A Perfect Summer

Summers like these only come by once in a blue moon nowadays. The feeling of the warming sun on my cheeks. Not too hot, not too uncomfortable, just right.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that grey clouds didn’t exist at all if you saw the weather today. White fluffy clouds like cotton wool, hover in the perfectly painted blue sky. It’s a pale shade of blue, the shade that’s perfect for a baby’s bedroom. The sands are golden, as if each grain has been designed to glow. I feel the warmth, when my bare feet slide in like a blanket of goodness, wrapping my toes together. The sun’s rays shimmer upon the ocean. Tiny speckles of silver sparkle in the blue water as though I’ve added diamonds to an already beautiful picture.

I lounge, I bask, I relax. Nothing is worth worrying about, not today. Today is for me, is for us.

I vaguely hear laughter. Children’s laughter. My head is resting upon a deck chair that’s so soft upon my hair, and my eyes are covered by the pink hue my sunglasses make. Those sounds are from my nephews and nieces. They run without a care in the world, as if childhood will never end. I can imagine their faces now, full of rosy cheeked dimples, playing make believe with their buckets and spades. This sound is music to my ears and reminds me of when I was once their age.

I remember these memories fondly. We would tease each other, but it was all in good fun. Every moment we spent together was treasured from start to end. We would dig out mounds of sand with our tiny plastic spades and somehow, we’d dig a hole so deep that our uncle could lay down inside. I’d find it hilarious to bury him neck deep in warm sand. All that was left of him was his head chuckling away.

Back then, all the cousins could get away with murder. We were told off and told to play away from the adults. Now, hearing that sound again, I am transported to that time. Those kids better make the most of this holiday, I think.

I sit basking in the sun, cooking nicely. I can feel my skin starting to heat up the more I lay down in the sun. It’s still a comfortable feeling, lying, listening to the children and waves. Feeling the sands sizzle. I could live this life for the rest of my days.

I hope the rock pools are still there, for the young ones to hunt for tiny creatures, like jellyfish and hermit crabs. Apart from burying family members, looking for strange animals in the water was one of my highlights. Hopefully they still allowed them to do this, it’s an integral part of childhood.

The sunscreen I rubbed all over myself starts to settle in. I let nature do its work and let myself drift off into a deep slumber.

Something doesn’t feel right. I awake with a start, to find my sunglasses by my side. My eyes are scrunched tightly but no laughter I hear. The waves drift in and out as they always do, nothing about that changes. The sand feels comforting still and yet I feel odd.

It’s the laughter around me that has changed. There is noise, nowhere is completely silent, and as I open my eyes slowly, I am faced with this harsh truth. These smiles, this laughter they are in fact screams, terrifying helpless screams.

They rush in a panic. My family are scattered around the beach, children without their parents crying for the end. Some of the small ones have turned golden sands into scarlet nightmares.

He stands above me. Towering so high like a tree in a forest. His breath smells musty and unkempt, looming over me with what I know as a machete, spilling over the sides with blood from my family. I know it is me who is next.

Inches away from death, my vision is fuzzy. I see the glorious beach and the contrast of violence on the shore. Bodies with no life to breathe, just their childish shells lying limp. A stark contrast to the memories of my cousins, chasing after each other, screaming at the top of their voices with joy, unlike those I hear now, full of pain and despair.

There’s the warm sun on my cheeks, not a grey cloud in sight. The ocean glistens like a painting, its dark blue hues shining against the crystal silver. For a moment, I am a child investigating rock pools with curiosity, with my family. I am burying my uncles with plastic buckets and spades.

However, darkness creeps in, it consumes me and that metal blade is the last thing I ever see.