Childhood Dreams

When I was a kid I remember going to the beach every summer vacation. We have relatives who live near the beaches and at the foot of the mountains there so we really look forward to visiting them every summer. We enjoy trekking the mountains and digging for sweet potatoes and other crops; we would drink fresh buko juice and smell the scent of the sweet mountain grass, feel the fresh and clean air that is hard to find in the cities especially these days; and best of all was that you can do your bathroom business anywhere! Well, as long as you are careful and responsible enough.

Apart from all that, what we really really look forward to was swimming in the ocean. Even on school days we can't help but think of the next summer vacation so we can go back. That was where we learned to swim. It used to be so clean. You won't have to be too bothered if you drank seawater.

Going deep under the waters was the most refreshing experience you can ever have. Seeing what was under it was very satisfying; picking up different shells and stones under the water was a very fun summer hobby; and then catching your siblings, cousins and friends cheat at who can stay longer under water and hold their breath because the water is so clear you can keep your eyes open and see in it...

And after submerging into the water, the fresh air that fills your lungs when you resurface was the sweetest... even though in fact it is actually salty.

We would play volleyball on the seashore even when none of us knew the rules and how to really play it. And then, we would build sand castles and compare who made the best. We would also just lie on the sand and cover our entire body with just the head popping out of the sand... or pretend we were mermaids.

We would watch little crabs going through holes, go out and then back again. Sometimes we would catch them and ask our mothers if we can cook them.

Sometimes we see fishermen dragging their nets and we would run and help them. It was fulfilling to feel as if you also went fishing with them. And they might give you some too if they caught more than enough.

Food was better and healthier too because we would eat fresh vegetables and fruits from the farm and fishes from the ocean.

We made friends with other tourists too. There were more and more tourists every year. But some seemed to forget to respect nature... to be responsible. The waters are now murkier and murkier. And plastics littered them.

And now, I forgot to enjoy swimming because it's not the way it used to be anymore. How I wish I could turn back the time and see the same beauty of nature as we had seen and cherished before.