Living Into the Answers

Bright sparkle crush orange citrus baby sunbeam beach shell

Wave crasher sand bucket love beat tide jumper and fresh face splash mouth saltwater love open eyes heart ray sunshine starfish tangle stretching into sunbeams a new morning

Boat motor hum, seagull songs, salt scented air, double crested Cormorant, cocooned crabs, an ecosystem of peace, tides centering her heart

See her there, fresh face, wide open expectation, windblown sun-kissed. There is sand beneath her fingernails, there are words beneath her hands. They are her treasure. But treasure is not handed over freely. She will reckon with the universe.

Magic is a sure thing. The tides will go out, the tides will roll in, mount an assault, toss her, tangle her soul, flatten her to the ocean floor. Pinned, she will ache for breath, clutch at the deep, her fists full of seaweed, her hair full of shells. Certain of drowning, near surrender, she will face herself, accept her dark undoing. And then the tide will acquiesce, release its watery grip, recede into the blue expanse.

Breathless and tried, her brave face will confront the sea, the seaweed will fall from her hands, the sun will warm her face again and she will begin her ascent, knowing what has been exacted from her.