Salt and Sand

I live near several beautiful beaches, yet every summer passes by in a daze of busy holidaying plans which rarely include a stroll down to the beach. This summer, however, will be very different, for I have promised myself to go to the beach every single day starting from today until the last day of January.

I have also decided that driving by the beach does not count, my feet must touch the salt and sand. I am always driving by the beach on the way to the supermarket, or the dentist, or the post office....and that's actually part of the problem....I have stopped really seeing the beach for what it truly is.

So today I walked down to the beach and slipped into the crystal clear water and knew that I had made the right decision. Later, while lying on the sand, my mind wandered and my imagination ran riot. That's when I made another decision - I will write a short daily post in an attempt to capture something I experienced at the beach on each particular day.

DAY ONE

Today's illustration

Gretel killed the wicked witch and saved her brother Hansel, then she filled her apron with the witch's pearls and precious stones. Imagine her surprise when she later came across that piece of water. "We can never get across this...I see no stepping-stones and no bridge...no boat either."

I look out at that piece of water and conjure Gretel's white duck from the feather of a seagull and a wisp of weed and a smooth shell and some foam. The sunbathers all stand at once and peer out towards the horizon, shielding their eyes with their hands and pointing "Do you see that? In the distance?" "Doesn't it look like a huge white duck?"

I feel Gretel's duck swoop above me, so close that a tip of one wing sweeps my hair back and a webbed foot scratches my cheek. I sit up and look to my right, then my left, behind, and then straight ahead. The white duck is gone, flying over the land now, not the sea, so what will happen to Gretel and Hansel and my brother and me?