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Every summer, I remember how much I love the sea. Sometime during the year, I forget again - memories recede, drawn back out with the tide, but eventually summer rolls in once more.
I walked on the crumbling path where sand falls into sea, sunset at my left hand, nighttime at my right. Stepping carefully through the shallows, my footprints faded as I left them. As the sky grew darker, I remembered how to walk without leaving ripples, and soon even the fish didn't seem to notice as I passed by.
The water is warmer than I remember it from last year, and clusters of people still dotted the beach as I turned to walk inland - knowing where I was going, but not how to get there. I like journeys more than destinations, most of the time, and tonight was no exception.
I took the long road home along the beach tonight - from St. Kilda Yacht Club to Carlton, via Port Melbourne. I could have walked faster, if I had needed to be anywhere in particular, but I took my time enjoying the stillness. The trip home took about four hours, in the end - many of them spent barefoot, as I picked my way through the shallows.
For all that I love the sea, tonight I was glad to finally come home. Once, I walked that path for very different reasons, as I travelled to a different conclusion. That night, I was certain that I would not be coming back, but something persuaded me to sit and think awhile, and I remembered the friends who still waited at home.
Life may have a 100% mortality rate, and existence may well prove to be terminal, but that's no reason not to enjoy the years you get. Nights like tonight make me glad I stuck around long enough to see them.
I walked on the crumbling path where sand falls into sea, sunset at my left hand, nighttime at my right. Stepping carefully through the shallows, my footprints faded as I left them. As the sky grew darker, I remembered how to walk without leaving ripples, and soon even the fish didn't seem to notice as I passed by.
The water is warmer than I remember it from last year, and clusters of people still dotted the beach as I turned to walk inland - knowing where I was going, but not how to get there. I like journeys more than destinations, most of the time, and tonight was no exception.
I took the long road home along the beach tonight - from St. Kilda Yacht Club to Carlton, via Port Melbourne. I could have walked faster, if I had needed to be anywhere in particular, but I took my time enjoying the stillness. The trip home took about four hours, in the end - many of them spent barefoot, as I picked my way through the shallows.
For all that I love the sea, tonight I was glad to finally come home. Once, I walked that path for very different reasons, as I travelled to a different conclusion. That night, I was certain that I would not be coming back, but something persuaded me to sit and think awhile, and I remembered the friends who still waited at home.
Life may have a 100% mortality rate, and existence may well prove to be terminal, but that's no reason not to enjoy the years you get. Nights like tonight make me glad I stuck around long enough to see them.
