Sun
The sun was a white ball of heat imbuing fatigue into my bones and fog into my brain. If my
arms were to be fileted open my bone would be properly cooked enough to consume as a bone
marrow delicacy. I arched my back as I laid down on the towel, the sand scratching at my
shoulders and my hips when I flattened.
I could hear the ocean crashing and the spray salting the air. I didn’t need to look at the waves
to know that they were there. If I really focused, I could feel my body rocking in the sea, but no
matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break the heat. My mind was only so powerful.
My long, black hair was laid out behind me, mixing in with the white grains and attracting more
heat than the rest of my body. I preferred my hair to rest this way, even though there wasn’t a
UV ray strong enough to turn my hair lighter than obsidian.
The chemical taste of the sunscreen mixed on my tongue with sweat and saliva and dryness. I
could feel saltiness within the folds of my crow’s feet, as I squinted my eyes to look around at
the beach. A blue, Tommy Bahama, stray beach chair sat lonely staring at the surf. A family
unwrapped tinfoiled, melted, turkey and cheese sandwiches. A couple linked legs and faced
each other. A lifeguard sat on a yellow wooden chair, playing yacht rock music that the wind
softly carried to my ears
My chest was bare, my black bathing suit bottoms dug into my hips, and the underside of my
feet were red. As the sun bore its rays down on me, I could feel the slickness of the sunscreen
drying up and my skin becoming tender. The sunburn was slowly appearing and I knew my
smile would be strained for the next couple of days.
I reached my hand out and allowed my fingers to crawl into the sand. The warmth continued to
spread through my body, and I felt like I could melt into magma that would turn the sand into
glass.
A shadow broke the heat on my face. I opened my eyes to see my friend looking down on me.
She knelt down to my level, and her curls tickled my face. Her expression was intense.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. Her knees sunk into the sand.
I raised an eyebrow. “I’m relaxing.”
“You’re red.”
I sat up to face her. “I’m sure I am.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Let’s swim.”
“Fine.”
I stood up from the towel, sand sticking to my body due to the sweat and sunscreen mixture. I
shook my hair out, the sand loosening and flying away in the wind. From the corner of my eye, I
could see my sand grains plant itself onto the white bread of the family’s sandwiches. Oh well.
The water lapped my toes, and the cold sent an immediate shiver down my spine. I treaded
slowly, unsurely, and I watched my friend run ahead of me and dive straight in.
“Come on!” She laughed.
The water became ankle deep, knee deep, and then hip deep. My body slowly solidified from its
magma-like state into a statue-like formation.
I jumped,
and dove.
