I watch as you watch the waves ~

"See you soon. Take care of yourself, try not to get lost in a random crazy crowd," they said, and left me at the beach. "Don't worry, I'll make her be my generous little pet," he said to them as they kept moving towards the car.

Wandering all around the area and trying to reach a pleasant spot, I just got lost in the moment. My friend, who didn’t seem to care much, told me to be careful, asked me to stay close, and just left as he noticed a bunch of people who were smoking and drinking at the campsite. 

There were not many people seen around, as it was just getting dark. Also, it's a private beach. I simply bought a drink for myself and sat in a location where I felt like no-one would disturb me. I just kept staring at the beach. Those waves seemed as if they were peacefully playing with the sand. It was the full moon day, as they usually say, and the tides were high. I put the music on as I kept staring into the nothingness till I started to feel bored. I wanted to swim, but it’s getting cold and I didn’t want to take the risk. I kept moving away from the camp site and saw a family having their little party. It seemed perfect with the lights hanging around the trees, the calming jazz and their salsa session. I just couldn’t stop staring at an old couple dancing happily. I imagined us staying that way. "I promise to be there for all of your first experiences," he said. I imagined my entire life with him that day, but didn’t imagine that a fight that lasted for 3 months would make us stop talking to each other. I hoped everything would finally turn out to be perfect, just like we planned. As all those painful memories were rushing back to me, I kept looking.

While admiring the beautiful view, I sat closer to the place where they were having so much fun that they stopped caring about the world and just danced their hearts out. It was about 11:58 pm, and a few kids ran towards the beach with a cake in one hand. They were all excited and shouting. Suddenly, they turned back and started shouting. They were asking their mother to come there as well. As I was watching her shaking her head, the kids ran towards her, picked up the chair and placed it near the water. The waves now touched her legs, and she smiled. "Have a great time, dad, we miss you!" the kids shouted. They made her mom cut the cake. She got down from the chair and kept walking towards the water. I was wondering what she was doing. While holding the piece of cake in her hand and standing in the water, she turned back and looked at her kids. The kids were not shouting anymore. They stayed closer to each other and seemed a little low, yet happy somehow. I kept watching her to see what she would do now. She then turned towards the water and left the piece of cake in the water. The kids ran towards their mom when she left the cake and brought her back. They requested a particular song and made her dance to that song. I asked a person who was coming towards me why she left the cake in the water. She said that the kids’ father died two years ago, and that was their mom’s and father’s anniversary. They all planned to come here for vacation, but unfortunately, they lost him. "I’m very sorry for your loss!" I said, blaming myself for asking. I just didn’t know how to react. For a time, I just almost felt as if the situation had happened to me. Then I realized that the party seemed pretty fancy and happy, but it had its own tragic parts. Maybe that’s life, always surprising us with unasked meteors and unexpected miracles, but all we could do was find someone to blame as we couldn’t find answers. 

I turned back and kept moving to the other side as I was starting to feel emotional. I saw a guy wearing white. I couldn’t see the face properly but could sense that it was someone that I knew. It was starting to feel weird, yet I kept walking. I increased my pace and then, I was just a few meters away from him. I didn’t call him back. I kept staring at him with a feeling that I couldn’t figure out. He was looking at the moon and then looked right towards me. As I was starting to shred tears, he reached me and held my hand. I couldn’t utter a word but stared at him. While holding my hand and looking into my eyes, he said, "How can I not be there for your first beach visit, sweetheart?" Right then, tears kept falling from my cheeks. He made me look up and brushed my tears away. I was just looking at him as the reflection of the moon was falling on him. "There’s already enough water in the sea; don’t donate your precious little tears," he teased. "I thought you had moved on," I said. "Yeah, like on earth I would. I’m just convinced for this life that I will get taunts from you every day as long as I keep sleeping all day. How can I move on?" He hugged me as he said it. 

We walked towards the campsite and the song "With you" by Tyler Shaw started playing. I just ran towards the party and pulled him to dance with me. We danced while looking at the moon and mesmerizing its beauty as the song kept playing. The waves added a beautiful rhythm to the sounds of our heartbeats. We looked at each other and smiled, knowing that we were home in each other's arms.

After a couple of hours, "How was the surprise?" my cousins shouted while walking towards us.

-Lekhya Setty