Summer Sands and Sisterhood

The sun blazed high over Coral Cove, a stretch of beach that looked like it belonged in a postcard. The golden sands shimmered under the July sky, and the ocean waves sang a lullaby that tugged gently at the shore. It was the kind of place where time seemed to slow, and the worries of the world were washed away with the tide.

For the four girls sitting on a large beach blanket under a yellow-and-white umbrella, Coral Cove was more than just a vacation spot—it was a summer sanctuary. They called themselves “The Beach Girls,” not because they lived there, but because this beach held all their best memories. Every summer since they were kids, they’d returned—laughing, dreaming, growing.

There was Nina, the fearless surfer with wild, sun-kissed curls and a spirit that couldn’t be tamed. Jade, calm and creative, always sketching in her notebook between swims. Lila, the storyteller, who could turn any moment into a magical adventure. And Sophie, the quiet observer, who captured the world through her camera lens.

Now, at seventeen, this summer felt different. It was their last one before graduation. Life was waiting for them just beyond the horizon—colleges, careers, maybe even moving away. But none of them wanted to talk about that. Not yet.

"Race you to the water!" Nina shouted, bolting from the towel and kicking up a spray of sand.

“You always win!” Lila called after her but laughed as she chased her friend down the shoreline.

Sophie stayed back with Jade, who was sketching a sandcastle being built by a nearby child. “Do you think next summer will feel like this?” Sophie asked, her voice barely rising above the crash of the waves.

Jade didn’t look up. “I think it’ll be different,” she said honestly. “But not worse. Just... another chapter.”

Sophie nodded, adjusting the focus on her camera. She snapped a photo of the others diving into the surf, sunlight sparkling on the water around them. They looked like they belonged to the sea.

That evening, as the sky painted itself in hues of peach and lavender, the girls built a firepit from driftwood and flat stones. They roasted marshmallows and shared stories, not just of the summer, but of all the summers before—how Nina had wiped out trying to surf a five-foot wave at age eleven, how Lila convinced them the beach was haunted one year, how Sophie had once accidentally taken a picture of a celebrity without realizing it.

“Remember the sandcastle contest?” Jade smiled, pulling out the old trophy they’d won years ago. It was chipped and faded but still proudly bore the label: Best Teamwork - 2017.

“We spent hours on that thing,” Sophie said, her eyes glowing with the memory.

“You nearly cried when it got washed away,” Nina teased her gently.

“I was ten!”

They all laughed, the sound echoing into the dusk.

Later, lying on their backs on a blanket, watching stars blink to life overhead, Lila broke the silence.

“We should make a pact,” she said. “No matter where we go, we come back here every year. Same week. Same beach.”

“Agreed,” Nina said immediately, reaching out to link pinkies with the others.

“I’ll bring sketchbooks,” Jade said.

“And I’ll take the photos,” Sophie added.

“I’ll tell the stories,” Lila finished. “Even if we have to bring our kids one day.”

They laughed again, but the promise was real.

The next morning, as the sun rose pink and gold over Coral Cove, the girls packed their things slowly. Nina tucked her board under her arm. Jade closed her sketchbook. Lila zipped her journal into her bag. Sophie looked around, her camera ready.

She snapped one last photo of the empty beach, the four sets of footprints leading to the water’s edge.

As they left, Sophie whispered, “It’s not goodbye. It’s see you next summer.”

And they did return.

Year after year.

Sometimes with boyfriends, sometimes with heartbreaks, sometimes with success, and sometimes needing to heal.

But always, with each other.

Because some friendships are like the tide—ever-changing, but constant. Some stories begin on a beach and never truly end.

And The Beach Girls?

They were just getting started.