Sand Steps , Breaths And Sea!

• Madelyn Jensen, Grade 8, MacKillop Catholic School
• Short Story
• 2012

Excellence Award in the 'Legendary 2012' competition

Madelyn Jensen Address; 373 MacKay Bucasia road Richmond MacKay 4740
Grade: 8 Age: 13 Mercy college MacKay
Sand, steps, breaths & sea!
I take a step outside my door, I feel a rough but soothing substance rub against my feet it makes me want to run, wild and free.
I take another heart wrenching step towards the slow relaxing sound that is the blue sea water getting closer and closer to my feet; my feet in bedded in the sand.
One step, two steps, running. I run along the beach, sand in between my toes, I feel clean, refreshed, healthy. I slow down then fall to my knees…
I glance up at the sky, and then I imagine myself floating, taking in the fresh natural salt that makes the harsh, yet inevitable blue sea a sea!
I slowly remove myself from the wonderful image I am creating inside my head and I just breathe deeply-inhale the cold fresh air, then listen to the hush sounds that make up breath itself.
As I lie on the sand I wonder, when you find a shell, put in up to your ear is it really the sound of waves crashing against the rock or is it just our imagination? We hear it but do we really listen?
I stand up, my feet again, become in bedded in the sand. I walk-one step at a time towards the waves crashing against each other, I contemplate going in but back down.
I step back , turn around, and look up, I see before me a luscious green mountain do I explore or explode over the overwhelming sights I see before me?
I explore. Up, up, up, up the mountain. I finally reach the top. The view is immaculate.
I see the whole sea, the navy ships, and the jetties on the beach kilometres away, the buoys marking the nets, the boats docked at the marina, I can see it all but it’s just not going to last.
I spend hours on the mountain top but I now decide to come down. I travel down the mountain taking as much precious time as possible because I know that once I set foot on the ground, off the sand I know that I am in the real world now… back to reality!