I run.
I run so fast towards the water I can't feel my feet hitting the sand anymore. I can only hear the sound they make when reconnecting with the Earth and feel the next boost of energy that propels me and makes me bounce forward, like an arc of electricity creeping up my legs and making my heart beat faster, faster, faster.
When I reach the water, a liberating laugh escapes my throat. It's as if my lungs were expanding, getting bigger to smother the strong emotion burgeoning there, at the sight of the vibrant colours in the sky: baby blue, pastels of pink and orange hues. The sound of the waves hits my ankles and I am soon rejoined by my friends.
But they do not stop next to me to contemplate the scenery and revel in it; they keep running until the water slows down their movements as if to tell them to take their time, to have a look around despite their state of euphoria.
Each wave anchors my feet deeper and deeper in the velvety sand and although my laugh floats among Chloe and Gabrielle, I stay put for a little longer to let the last rays of sunshine caress my skin and the feeble breeze mess with my hair in a loving and reassuring whistling.
I can feel my chest expand with each gulp of air I take and I open my palms towards the sun, towards the sea, towards the light, to take it all. I bask in the silence inside my head as the waves wash my intrusive thoughts away. A single tear escapes me and the wind takes it as if it were its own. I feel myself let go, ascend or descend or sway from side to side, I do not know. What I know is that I had forgotten that such a state of tranquillity and peacefulness could be mine ever again.
When Chloe calls me and encourages me to walk deeper into the water, I feel strong enough to take a step forward, then two, then three; and I respond to each iodic wave crashing against my calves with a wave of my own: I feel love radiating from every pore of my skin, I feel alive, I feel Nature, I feel me again.
