One With the Sea

As a kid with short legs and small feet, I loved the way the cold ocean floor touched my toes.

I felt at peace with nature’s beautiful sea — the way the waves danced, the way my hair flowed with the breeze.

Oh, how much I loved the beach. How much I wished I could be one with its beauty.

Then a thought popped into my head — the best kind of thought.

I shall, I said.

I shall indeed become one with the beach.

I ran home so fast I had to stop and catch my breath.

I went straight to my piggy bank to count how much money I had left.

With a double-nickel’s worth of hope, I decided I would buy myself a surfboard.

At last, I would be one with the sea.

I got to the store, but there wasn’t a surfboard in sight.

My legs started shaking.

“It can’t be,” I whispered.

It wasn’t nighttime yet, so I searched the whole town — high and low.

Just as I was about to give up,

I saw a light.

Its beauty was so bright it almost blinded me.

I ran to the shop.

I did.

I did!

At last, I would be one with the sea.

I jumped and shouted yippee as I walked home,

feeling like a millionaire,

finally ready to become part of the ocean.

The very next day, the sea felt like it was calling my name on that bright summer morning.

I walked close to the water, and as I approached, the waves gave me a gentle push.

The next thing I knew, I was in the ocean.

I dipped my hand in and smiled — oh, what a good day it was.

It was nearly midnight when I finally surfed back to shore.

“I will be here at sunrise,” I promised.

“And when the sun sets, we will be together again and again… my dear friend.”