Gutters of My Mind

The King of Crab Court

The sea was shining. That was the juvenile description that floated through my mind as I admired the way the early morning sun glinted off the horizon and the blue waters on the coast of the country I now called home. I didn't know it then, but this would soon become my most favorite place to be. My most favorite place to spend my days, running in and out of the cool waters that would lap at my ankles and the breeze that would weave through my hair and across my face smelling of salt and freedom and youth. I didn't know it then, but I would miss my youth.

I run as fast and as far as I can, moving to the invisible rhythm within my heart that drove me to move and drove me to enjoy each day as if it were my last. I run so hard and fast that my parents who I can hear yelling and laughing after me soon fade from my attention. My eyes widen in an effort to see everything and everyone at once, but of course it's not possible, so my head is on a swivel turning, left and right and up and down, and I spin until I'm dizzy with the stimulus.

The name of the beach fills my head until the word loses meaning, Haeundae Haeundae Haeundae Haeund-Eventually, my parents catch up, and my mother gathers me in her arms before laughing loudly at my behavior. I know she loves to see the happiness on my face. I wiggle as much as I can to escape and hop along as my father works to find us the perfect spot on the beach. It's not yet crowded, but I know that it will fill up soon. A perfect summer day like this one has to mean that everyone had the same idea as the three of us.

Once the spot is found, I pull at my t-shirt nearly falling over with the force and my giggling mother has to grab my hands to stop me from falling. I vibrate with excitement, and my mother has trouble getting my clothes off, but finally I am left with my swimsuit and a thick layer of sticky sunscreen. I dash as fast as I can towards the water, dragging my father along, who had finished stripping down to his swim trunks by then. My father yelps but snatches me by the waist and throws my squealing form over his shoulder, jogging to the ocean and splashing into the cold water.

When I feel the temperature of the water on my dangling legs, I can't help but squeal even louder causing my father's shoulders to shake in laughter. I wiggle enough eventually, that dad lets me down, and I immediately use my small hands to scoop up water and have it rain down on us underneath the rising sun. I remember what my father looked like with my makeshift rain sprinkling down on his beaming face. I remember how the glittering "rain" matched the glitter in his eyes. I remember too well.

My mother, who has been sneaking up behind my father, lifts a finger to her lips to silence me, and I know the mischief in her eyes is mirrored in mine. My father is unaware, but soon, he's dunked under the water too quickly for his mind to have caught up. Mom and I laugh in chorus, and mom's hands slap mine in victory. It must be hours that my parents and I spend in and out of the water, swimming, splashing, sparkling in this time we are spending together. When the sun is high enough, we climb out of the water (dragged in my case) so we can eat and rejuvenate our energy for our afternoon romp in the sea.

By this point, many families, couples, and kids have found their way to our corner of the beach, wanting to share in the fun. I sit next to my mother, but I soon regret that decision once she clicks open her sunscreen and slathers it on my body as quick as a viper striking from the sand. Fight as I might, there is no escape from SPF300 (my mother later corrects me and says it was only SPF30, so why does it burn mother???). Once escape is allowed, I stand with my feet wide, hair drying on my neck and cheeks. I can already feel my freckles cropping up on my shoulders and cheekbones.