The Beach at Night
Illstration by Harumi Mima
The dense sky above stole the silver light of the hour. The little stars dotted the gaps between the clouds. The dimly lit moon shone on the rough sea beneath, glazing it with a serene silver. The stormy sea waves crashed on the sandy shore in rhythm, putting out an orchestra for my emotions to dance on. I walked on the sand with my bare feet while the entire city slept and a trail of thoughts started whirling in my head. The tall waves violently crashing on the shore and silently pulling back looked like the visuals of the thoughts caged in my mind. The frosty sea breeze numbed my body. A shock wave ran across my spine, giving me goosebumps on my forearms, and stiffened my body. I stood there still, staring at the harshness of the sea.
Diving into my lucid thoughts, the harsh waves intensified what I was already feeling, brimming with them, incessant like waves. My emotions were a pair of sadness and anger that rose to the heights with the waves and crashed to a level where they would go unnoticed. But they seemed too determined to stay. The emotions in my head replicated the rolling clouds in the sky. Formless, free-flowing, dark and suppressive. I can't help but think, and at times my eyes forget to blink, and my mind rushes into a state of turmoil. The sudden strike of lightning, followed by a series of the rumbling of the rain clouds, reasoned tonight's violent sea. The wind was meandering its way through the trees opposite the shore, almost seeming to be escaping the storm that was about to rise. The slight showers from the sky soon united with the sea and the sand. Its icy drops dotted the sand just as the stars did to the sky. I interpreted the rain as still water only falling from the sky in numberless ways but denied its purest form. Always fancied, always metaphorical, always figurative. The ocean was maybe for once experiencing what drowning felt like as the heavy rain fell into it. The winds hushed as if they were to keep a secret of the sea that night, conciliating the atmosphere. The mood of the sea changed as the seasons did, but the moon's stillness remained constant. The violent elements of the storm were balanced by the moments of stillness the moon generously offered.
The diffused petrichor unfurled, and the silver light dimmed as the hours of the sunrise neared. The sea was serene, the winds softened, the drizzle was soothing, and my feet were covered with wet sand. The clouds travelled further, and the waves were caressing the shore. My thoughts, like the waves, were now more peaceful and tranquil. The rumbling of the clouds was replaced by the swish of the waves and the whispering of the slow winds. The sea creatures crawled out of their holes looking for comfort and calmness. The sea at the late hours of this night, had found the new beginning that it longed for.