Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Beach (07/04/05)
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TITLE: Escape... | Previous Challenge Entry
By Judy Hollins
07/10/05 -
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The tinny sound of contemporary pop drifts down from the surf shop beyond the palm trees, the words somewhat incongruous with the action-packed family vacations occurring around me.
From my deck chair under the shade of a striped beach umbrella, I can see far down the long, narrow strip of sand which constitutes the island’s main beach. The afternoon sun is beating down hot and unyielding, fiercely reflecting off the time-bleached sand. The glare is thrown up into the faces of anyone brave enough to venture out from the air conditioned suites and shaded swimming areas of the resort, and many have already retreated to sleep off their buffet lunches.
Light planes occasionally fly low overhead, depositing yet more holidaymakers onto this, “the nearest luxury island to the mainland, so close you can escape for the weekend”. Hmm, the package deal doesn’t seem such good value as I start to question the value of remaining so close to ‘real life’…
Speedboats and various other pleasure craft skip through the bay, sprouting plumes of spray behind them, the delighted screams of the passengers echoing over the water.
Squawks of protest at having lotion rubbed onto already-red faces can be heard, as can the plaintive requests of mothers for their children to behave. The activity and sounds of the beach seem to be amplified by the heat, and are eventually enough to prompt me to move. I get up to move further down the beach, and then stop. What was that other bay I’d heard the guide mention yesterday during his introductory spiel? “Shoal Bay, a bit of an effort to get to but worth it for the serenity…”
As the sun starts to shift from it’s position directly overhead, the day remains hot and clear, but the breeze now has a coolly refreshing edge to it that caresses the heat from my face as I trudge through the bush. With my book and bikini changed for shorts and sneakers, I power up the hill, fatiguing under the heat and exertion but certain that something special is awaiting me, although what exactly I’m not sure of. The further I go the more the sounds of civilisation drop away behind me until I’m enclosed in a green and brown world, smelling of eucalyptus and bark.
The first glimpse through the trees of the deeper blue water and darker yellow sand of the small, private bay are enough to spur me on down the hill, the track winding around rocks and fallen trees.
Once down onto the beach, shoes removed, I trudge through the sand. The fine granules squeak together beneath my feet, almost as though in protest that a human should dare to lumber in and invade this beautiful beach. The whole expanse appears to be lying wholly undisturbed except for the wind, which is making the waves lap and the trees sway gently, their dry leaves hanging lazily.
I let myself drop down onto the sand and sit and just observe the beach: its rocks, its sandy undulations, the changing light and shadows as the day progresses. The cooling temperature and lessening glare of the sun are the only reminders to me that time hasn’t actually stood still, as I’m here totally abandoned to nature and solitude.
But as muffled sounds of humanity echo around the headland I decide it’s still not enough seclusion, the silence hasn’t saturated me fully yet, and I run down into the water, crashing in, arms and legs flailing joyously, a big grin on my face.
As I float on my back, the azure water lapping over me and the sun and salt dancing on my skin, I realise I’ve found solitude, but am never alone; I can retreat from my fellow man for a time, but am not lonely. Something greater and better than everything around me, indeed great enough to have splashed all of these verdant hues onto so big a canvas, is here with me. And I’m happy because of it.
“I am with you even to the ends of the earth…”
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But, each time your faced with it, it tells you who you have become, thats the best part. Very well done my dear.
Enjoyable reading.
God bless, littlelight