Wave After Wave

Prologue: Little Drops of Water

Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.

Thus the little minutes,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.

        -Julia Fletcher Carney

        The sound of the crashing waves and the faint smell of salt wafting in on the breeze coming through my open window gently roused me from my slumber as the first rays of daylight crested the watery horizon. I reluctantly rolled out of bed and moved to window in order to examine the morning's surf. The waves pounded against the beach, roaring each time one met the unwavering sand, begging to be heard and acknowledged.

        I turned from the window and entered my closet, where I quickly changed from my pajamas into a bikini, and I headed downstairs and out the French doors onto the porch, careful to miss the floorboards that squeaked the most in fear of awakening my dad.

        Once I was sure the door was securely closed and no longer at risking of waking my dad up, I turned around and breathed in the fresh ocean air blowing in from a few feet past the porch. I picked up my wet suit from the bench where it was sitting and pulled it up to my waist. I pulled a hair bow off of my wrist and used into tie my sun-bleached red hair into a sloppy bun at the top of my head. I squeezed a dollop of sunscreen into my hand from the bottle sitting on the table and rubbed it onto my face and neck. I grabbed my surfboard from where it was propped up against the fence and leaped down the steps two at a time to reach the beach.

        Right now was my favorite time of day to visit the beach, when it was completely deserted, so it was just me, my thoughts, a surfboard, and the waves. After spending a moment taking in the beach, I reached down to secure my leash around my ankle, and headed into the water.