The Beach

Breathe in...and out...in...and out...

The mantra in my head played out in time to the waves that diffused out along the beach. Consistently and unwaivering, they rolled along the beach until there was nothing more of them to roll out, throwing a cluster of foamy bubbles along the sand in an attempt to hold their place before being dragged back- once more- to the deeper depths to where they came from. The sound of waves against the beach is an usual, yet fascinating, sound for me. You hear the sound of one wave hitting the shore-the satisfying audial mix between a 'woosh' and a 'crash' as the waves make impact- but you hear this one wave hit the shore at every single point on the shore. It attacks from the left, right, front, other end of the beach, any and all directions but each one sounds different and they all harmonise together to make this short symphony that always comes back for an encore.
Nothing else can be heard aside from the waves, the beach is earily quiet as I sit on the sand, my knees pulled close to my chest. Beneath my feet I can feel the sand; its miniscule, grainy existence working alongside others of its kind to support me upon it. It's the only thing that keeps me in place at the minute but the only thing keeping it in place is itself.
I hate the sand when I'm trying to relax. The grains get everywere and anywhere, no matter what you do or how careful you are. It's nice otherwise, though. Fortunately for my feet, it gains heat easily, so I can never be that cold if I'm sat on a natural radiator. I can never be too warm, either...the sea always brings in a cool breeze towards me, caressing my arms and neck gently, tussling my hair around playfully, making it feel like I'm both alone and yet with company- company I don't have to return pleasantries with but can just co-exist with. Company that smells. Salty and yet fresh- nothing like the air freshners- with a kind of pureness that only something foreign to all human contact can have, it feels slightly cleansing as I breathe it in and out.
I don't even know why I'm here. The beach is usually a place I go when I'm stressed, a place to calm down and let the things that have been building up in me dissipate and go away- I'd never let them out for fear of hurting people. This time, though, I don't know why I'm stressed or if I even am stressed...I just feel like I need to be here. Things in my life lately just seem to be builing up just to die back down again, only then to build back up. In that respect, maybe my life is like the waves on the sea... I think I'll just stay here until I can face things back home again...

Breathe in... and out...in...and out...