My uncle guides me from the rusty blue car, with its sticky vinyl seats and hot dash. I kick the sand with each small step, burning my pale, white feet.

Perched on a dune above the rocky shore I dig my toes into the sand. The brim of the world appears and the ocean is spread before me, awesome and new.

Foaming ripples dance along the beach spraying, with youthful laughter, a salty mist. Shiny ribbons of silver bounce on undulating waves that tease the dry sand, just out of reach of the water’s caress.

Seashells dot the face of the shore, with seaweed, left by playful waves, twisted around their colorful orbs. They disappear again, beneath the purifying laughter of the sea.

We stand now with our backs to the cool waves as they crash into our bare skin, stinging our backs. Running towards the shore in soggy trunks I fall to the sun-dried sand, laughing.