As darkness faded from the tunnel, light shined down from above; stairs leading back to the surface.
Tom held his camera loosely as he climbed, pebbles and discarded rocks strewn about the steps. He squinted, shielding his eyes as he broke through the invisible barrier, separating point from point.
Sunny.
Not cloud in sight for as far as he could see. Blue skies, right past the shadowy towers of a far off city. Humid heat waves emanating from the sun.
With his eyes adjusting, he'd stepped out, confronted by a vast beachfront; waves somersaulting along the low tide coastline. A sea worthy breeze whipping his summer clothes, while he breathed in a salty breath.
Oh the days he'd had frolicking without a care. Bike rides through the park, ice cream cones on muggy days, vacations to the far reaches of tropical paradise, plane rides skating along the equator. Momentary experiences now felt distant.
But besides, any beach day was good day in his book. Even if sand always got stuck in shoes and underwear.
He sighed contented, snapping a picture of its entirety.
Summer used to be endless possibility. If only it could still be so.
His bare feet felt around the cool white sands, reminding him of volleyball matches he'd had with friends, and the sandcastles he built with assistance; small easy to forget things.
He went on, his foot prints leaving momentary swatches of history. There was a doubt there, however brief, maybe a seed had drifted from spring.
For now though, he chose to ignore it. It was something he could worry about after his journey. Instead to give a convincing illusion, he basked in a slow amble among the gathering dunes.
Overhead black tailed gulls squawked, coasting and flapping through water sprays, darting down for morsels and being a nuisance to each other. In curiosity, a duo swooped down harrying his head, and frequently blotting the sun. For a second he stopped, aimed up, and captured a moment.
Before long, the gulls had lost interest.
In his mind a memory lazily passed, a boy running panicked, ham sandwich in hand as a swarm of birds cawed in pursuit. He chuckled beside himself, what a scene it had been.
The turbulent winds were free to twirl about in ripples and corkscrews. Creating currents which the crustaceans were anchored firmly against. A loose colony of crabs and hermits sunbathing, their hard outer skeletons reflecting some color to the surroundings sediments.
He took time to watch the sparse grasses, sticking up defiantly at the crests of dunes throughout the shifting sands. Clumps and hovels providing shade for little mice burrows. The mice, no doubt living quietly during the day, wary of predators and sunburns.
Higher up, pairings of shorebirds colluded and twittered with the ever present gulls. All competing for the wailing fish, swimming below the cascading currents; shells and shoes washing up upon the shoreline. He snapped another picture, intentionally not looking through the viewfinder.
Taking a break from walking, he went to the coastline. The waves waving and rolling as if alive, while the sun bared down. This was a peaceful summer day. It was refreshing, in an indescribable way. And yet, something still tugged on him, he couldn't place it but it was there. In the end he knew he had to push on, let the seconds tick, and the moments pass unimpeded.
He kept going, back on the zigzagging trail between hills of the Earth. Up ahead, appearing quite abruptly, as if apperating from nothing was a sun dried pyramid. Stacks of sandstone leading up to a point, a rectangular door shape jutting a few feet out, a tunnel of sorts.
Tom turned, snapping a picture of both the world and pyramid.
With that the wind graced him a farewell, which he returned with a half smile, feeling bittersweet. With a finale look, he strode back into the tunnel, the light dimming behind him.
