The waves lapped at the sand like my mind, lapping at the shores of consciousness.

Ha. A completely random thought, that struck me as I lay beneath our huge striped umbrella, the steady, loping rhythm of the water lulling me into a light, easy sleep.

But regardless, kind of poetic. In an amateur sort of way. Naturally.

“Amandy!” my little sisters called.

Lazily, I glanced up. The little girls were racing after a flock of sea gulls, as though hoping to lift off the ground and fly after them. I chuckled, giving a lopsided grin.

I remembered the days when I was as little as them, and the world intrigued me so. Everything was a wonder. Ignorance is bliss. How heartbreakingly true those words weighed on my soul.

I wouldn’t let nostalgia creep into my mind, not today. Today I just wanted to sleep, here under the gentle sun, here—at the ocean.