It all Comes in Waves: The Solitary Joy of the Ocean

Chapter 5

"I think I want to spend some time on the beach before we leave later." I suggested.

"That'd be great actually. You really like the beach, don't you?" Este grinned.

"I do." I laughed.

"Is it everything you thought it would be?"

"Apparently it's more, since I haven't even seen it all."

Since Este and I decided to spend the morning on the beach together, we finished our breakfast and took our plates downstairs quickly as to not waste any time.

We each got changed in our rooms. I put on a different bathing suit, this time a green one with a hibiscus flower pattern across it.

I met Este downstairs and she had the beach bag packed. We said bye to Dahlia and Randy and started making our way toward the ocean.

We walked a minute then found our spot in the sand. Este set down our stuff and laid out our towels.

I started to run toward the water, but Este stopped me.

"Eileen, sunscreen!" She laughed. "Especially for you."

I walked back over to her and took the sunscreen lotion to lather all over myself. As soon as I finished, I raced to the water for real this time with Este following behind me.

I ran deep into the water pretty fast, excited to be here again. The water felt nice and cool against my skin.

We both swam out pretty deep, the water reaching our necks.

I decided I wanted to look for seashells. I went underwater and started moving around the sand to see if I could find any. I noticed there was always plenty on shore, and wasn't sure the right way to look for these things. Este's told me people like to collect them.

Eventually, I managed to find a nice one. it was white with vibrant pink linings. I resurfaced and held it up to show Este.

"Woah, that's a pretty one." She smiled.

She then went underwater herself, I assume to join me. So I kept looking too.

Back home, I liked to collect random things. I'd pick up empty cans and bottles to get a little money out of it by recycling. The cans, I would always take the tabs off and collect them. I guess to remember how much I've done.

I swam even further out for a new place to look. I was now unable to touch the bottom by standing. I looked around in the sand and eventually found some more pretty ones. I met Este again and she showed me a handful that she found.

"Awesome! We can make bracelets and things out of these." She smiled.

"Really?" I hadn't thought of that.

"Yeah." She held up the shell necklace she was wearing around her neck. "That's how I got this."

After messing around in the ocean, we started making our way back to the shore. I was scanning the sand admiring all the colorful seashells at the waters edge until I noticed a dark sharp object.

I bent down to examine it and wiped off the sand that was covering some of it. It was pointy and was different shades of grey.