The breeze was warm. The beach had no swarm of people around it. Summer is almost over. People are going back to their usual lives. Charles was sitting on the sand watching the waves crash to the shore. He felt the gushes of warm wind to his face. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine the days before today.
About a week ago, he was there together with his girlfriend, Alex. They loved the beach and the summer time. They loved seeing people gather and just swim and sunbathe. Summer was such a fun time for everyone.
Charles opened his eyes and went back to reality. Chelsea, his sister, sat beside him on the sand. She took a good look at him and noticed the sadness in her brother’s face. But it wasn’t sadness that was in Charles’ mind, it was the thought about what tomorrow holds.
“Are you okay?”, she asked.
Charles took a few seconds then slowly nodded. He kept his sights on the waters. Chelsea tried to look at the direction her brother was looking at. She didn’t see or noticed anything significant.
“What’s on your mind?”, she asked again. She genuinely wanted her brother to know she was there if he needed someone to talk to.
Charles took some time before speaking.
“Not much in particular”, he said while still having his sights fixated on the waters.
Chelsea thought there wasn’t anything more she could say to make her brother open up and talk. She just continued to sit with him and planned to stay there with him for as long as he was there.
A few minutes had already passed. Chelsea became hypnotized by the waves. Charles noticed it and knew right away she was in the same zone as him.
“I’m not sad about Alex, by the way, if that’s what you think I’m feeling”, he said as he turned his head towards his sister.
“What is it then?”, she said as she started to hear the little sounds the sands make when the wave crashes into shore.
“Its the waves”, he said. They were now seeing and feeling the same thing towards the waters. “Last year, these waves were here. Last week, the same waves are probably going to be here also. Today, its still here. And tomorrow, next week, next year and so on. It’ll still be here”.
Chelsea slowly nodded as she closed her eyes and succumbed to the waves. Her eyes were closed but she can see everything around her.
“You want to know what’s on my mind? Its the uncertainty of our lives moving forward. How some things stay, and some leave. These waves, they will be here forever. But us, human beings, we never know where we’re going to be in the future. It’s both sad and beautiful”, Charles said.
Chelsea opened her eyes and saw tears coming down Charles’ eyes whilst it were closed.
“Alex, sure I loved her. But not anymore, not ever. She’s gone and now I’m here alone with you, sitting on a place where we used to spend some time together. But these waves, they’re still here. And once we head back home, it’ll just be these waves here”, he said. He then opened his eyes and wiped his tears away.
Chelsea now knows what was in her brother’s mind. He was scared about moving on, not from the person, but from the memories. There are things that wouldn’t move forward with him; places, things, faces. The scariest part of moving on is the attempt to make new memories on familiar settings. The world wouldn’t adjust to him. He needs to adjust to the world.
Its sad because you can’t escape it. But it’s also beautiful because its a chance for a fresh start.
“Charles! Chelsea! Its time to go”, a yell from a distance came from their mother. It was time to go.
Charles stood up and offered his hand to Chelsea to help her stand. They shrugged the sand from their bottoms and smiled at each other.
“Everything’s going to be fine. I know it will”, Chelsea said.
Charles pats Chelsea’s head in a playful manner. “I know”, he said. They walked towards their mother to the car as they were ready to go back home.
Meanwhile, the waves continue to crash the sands. The car accelerated away. Now, the beach was empty once again. It’ll be like that until next summer time, where people go back and make new memories.
Charles and Chelsea might come back next summer. And by then, things would’ve been a lot different. The pain and sadness is only temporary. But during the time that it exists, it might be hard to cope up with. But like the waves, it’ll be calm come summer, but angry during storms. But it’s still the same waves that crashes over and over again to the shore. And it will continue to be like that as long as everything still exists.
highest in the room 