Forever

Free

Wind. It whispers along the shimmering band of pale sand like the sun's rays in the early dawn. It flies, untethered, tangling itself inside white cloth sails blowing in the breeze, powering tall wooden ships and small crafts bobbing in the big blue expanse. It sits, hiding in wait to blow over like a stream of school kids released for summer vacation and endless days of warm sun. At night, it curls in on itself, tucking back away to the little corners of the Earth from which it came.

Until the day a small white boat comes, slipping easily through the water and towing a paddle board. Two girls, excited; they perch at the front of the boat, staring into the water as it comes ever closer to that shimmering band of pale sand that has sat untouched by anything but wind.

The youngest girl giddily shrieks, bouncing up and down as the small boat slows, as the mother heaves a black, rusted anchor over the side of the boat; as the father cuts the engine.

At once, it is quiet. The wind has curled away, waiting as waves lap at the beach's edge while the girls drag out a smooth white board, paddling to the beach.

The bottom of their board brushes the sand as their toes burrow into the warmth, sending their minds spiralling off into imaginings of paradise.

The water is refreshingly cold even as the sun relentlessly sends rays beating upon the waters. The wind peeks up, waiting and watching as the sisters leave two pairs of footprints leading down the beach. It chases their prints, stirring up sand and letting the waves mingle with their footsteps until they have washed away, forgotten to all but those who are free.