Dozing Off...

Ice Cream

The smell of salt and sand hit me the instant
I got out of my car. Grabbing my bag, I passed my hand through the car window, feeling the stickers my niece put on it when she was 8 years or so. You could see that they were already faded and about to come off, but I really didn't care. That's one of the few memories of her I'm gripping to hold on to.
As I walked, I could hear the sound of breeze as it hit the palm trees, and how it moved the sand until it hit my legs, leaving an itchy feeling until I brushed it away.

The beach was calm, empty. The only people in there were an elderly couple, and what seemed to be a fisherman in the distance. That's what so great about waking up early: you have most places to yourself, undisturbed. I walked to a secluded spot, hidden beneath uva playera trees. I quickly took off the loose dress I was wearing to put my coverup underneath my one piece, and slowly started to enter the water. The cold feel of I sent shivers down my spine, but I didn't want to go back to the shore. I've always loved the water ever since I was little, especially the beach. Mother used to take me there every weekend, I'll never forget when she used to take me to a long-forgotten ice cream shop after the beach and buy me a vanilla cone. Ever since that shop closed, I've never tasted a vanilla cone like that. I always looked at mother while she ate her ice cream in the bench outside the shop, overlooking the beach. She was always smiling, and so was I.

I submerged myself to let go of that uneasy feel of the water covering my body, put on my googles and swimming cap, walked a little bit more, and dived right in. As I swam, the cold salt water rushed and hit my face. Once in a while, I opened my eyes to see what was under me: only sand.

Flashback:

"Come on honey, don't be scared!" Mother said as she stood next to me on the shore, sand and water covering our feet.
"But mom, that water's so salty... I want to go back to the pool!"
"Oh, come on... alright, fine. Let's go to the pool."  Mother explained as she walked away. I followed towards her, and all of a sudden, she carried me and threw me in the water.

"See? It's not that bad!"
"Mom! Why did you do that?!" I whined, only to have her laugh in response. She walked into the water with me, and we spent the rest of the afternoon playing around there.

•••••
It's all thanks to that I have my love for the ocean. Thanks Mother. I continued to swim and swim, until I realized I was too far from shore.
"Oops, too far!"
I swam and swam, looking at the underwater sand desert under me. Once I reached shore, I saw somebody standing, as if thy were waiting for me.

"See? It's not that bad!"
"Mother? Mom!" I ran up to her and hugged her tight. "B-but aren't you-"
"I'm back honey, I'm back." She held me while I quietly sobbed in her shoulder.

"Well, that's the sad story about how a tourist sadly got attacked by a shark."
"Very, very sad Mark. Did she die at the moment?"
"Yes, that is true Sandy. An elderly couple saw the moment of attack: "suddenly, blood covered the water, you could see the shark violently attacking her, and there's was nothing you could do.." Please, if anyone knows any friend or family member of this lady, please contact us."