Faith tolerated the coldness of the water as it felt highly refreshing between her toes. She looks out on the horizon, a vast mass of ocean longing to be explored. She wondered how many secrets lay embedded under the sea’s bed. The ocean, to Faith, is like a child’s bed, like there is something sinister lurking beneath it. The wind swept across her face, drawing salt into her gleaming eyes. Water droplets rolled down her rosy, tanned cheek. As she whisked the tear away, her long auburn hair streamed into her eyes cascading over her perfect features.
Faith turned around to face the many people dotted along the coast. She could almost smell the sunbathers’ skin melting in the suns rays. The tourists stand out a mile, rows of white torsos blotched in bright red patches. This sensation is so new to her; she felt intimidated having so many eyes scrutinizing her. She tries to escape to a less exposed area. In between the rows of orderly positioned sun beds, she glimpsed an opening.
Faith came prepared. On her shoulder she carried a flowery, blue, beach bag, as she weaved her way through the inactive bodies. The thin fabric straps plunged into her bare flesh. Finally, she found her destination and gave a sigh of relief.
From her bag, Faith revealed a pastel pink towel. She unfolded it and tossed it into the air, the sudden breeze almost tore it away from her arms. Faith ran her hands over the fleecy cotton, smoothing out the creases the unevenness of the sand created.
Carefully, she set herself down on the velvety towel. The soft material rubbed against her exposed legs, she felt as if she was outstretched on a cloud. The whole world drifted away as she closed her eyes. A world of darkness enveloped her.
Faith woke to discover the sun directly overhead. The sun blinded her as she opened her weary eyes and gazed up to the sky. The sun looked like a melting lump of butter, dripping off a plate onto a clear blue table cloth. The sun was brushing over her skin and appeared to be reaching out to her.
Two windsurfers danced over the waves, dipping and soaring, their dazzling red and green sails, like the wings of exotic birds. Yachts bobbed on the water, as Faith outstretched her hand, she felt as though she was crushing them between her fingertips.
A little girl knelt near the water’s edge, coated in sand. Her little white hat covered her sun kissed hair, shading her eyes from the piercing sun. She shovelled sand inexpertly into a discoloured orange bucket. She seemed so intent on empire building, that the world surrounding her appeared oblivious. Her mother sat nearby, engrossed with her magazine and taking sips from a can of coke.
The sun beat down on Faith’s face producing beads of sweat. She swept away the tiny droplets from her brow. The smell of salt rushed through her head. The smell was so overpowering it left her parched.
Luscious, lofty palm trees reached into the sky like sky-scrapers. The sun seemed to be drawing them towards it, and in doing so, casting shadows beneath their immense, sharp, jade leaves. They were in clumps along the soft white blanket.
Faith caught a glimpse of her feet. Sand patterned over them. She rubbed them together to brush off the grains but they remained stuck to her feet. Then, her eyes were drawn to the skyline. Little white balls of fluff were strewn in the blue, like cotton wool. Faith could distinguish shapes in the clouds; they seemed to be staging a show, especially for her, with their constant movement.
Faith decided she wanted to explore more of the beach. She packed her belongings into her bag and shook her towel to discard of any sand. Neatly, she placed the towel in her bag and quenched her thirst with a bottle of water.
Further down the beach, huge rocks were stacked on top of each other. Faith headed towards them moving in and out of the bodies sprawled out in the sun. The heat was now oblivious to her as she had become acclimatized to it but the sand still blistered her feet.
Eventually, she reached the rock pool. She clambered onto the jagged rocks and examined the contents of the puddles of water. Fish glistened below the surface as they swam in and out of obstacles. Faith ran her finger along the water’s surface creating ripples. She was fascinated with the amount of life in such diminutive vicinity.
Faith sat on one of the smoother rocks and appreciated the view. She was in her element. The sea stretched out before her and she felt herself drift away, as if it were her own little world, where everything around her was built into her imagination and she treasured every sacred minute of it.