Moments In Time

Nightfall in Mission Beach

7/31/16

9:55 PM

San Diego, California

Mission Beach

She sat there on the rooftop balcony and took a deep breath of cool ocean air. As she inhaled she could almost taste the salt on her tongue, as well as the bit of chocolate she'd had for dessert a few hours prior. Around her the night was humming peacefully. In the distance the calming white noise of waves lapping up against the shore could be heard. The crickets were singing, and there was a slight rustle from the palm fronds waving in the cool breeze around her. Occasionally, laughter would burst out from the house next door, but it did not disturb the girl's peace. Instead, she found comfort in these lively outbursts, for it was the carefree and joyful expression of her closest friends and family as they played a rousing game of cards. 

As she looked out, she saw the towels from the hours spent at the beach draped over the railing, and remembered how she'd spent the day laying in the sand lazily paging through a good book. She saw her own feet, and remembered them becoming calloused from running barefoot up the boardwalk stretched out on the table in front of her. Minuscule grains of sand were still visible from when she'd buried her toes in search of a cool patch of sand. She liked to pretend that if she squinted she could still the rolling waves, but in reality everything had been swathed in a settling darkness that felt just like a child's safety blanket: soothing and capable of warding off any evil monsters that may be lurking around the corner. In its entirety, the whole scene could be defined as content and peaceful.

The girl, while taking in all that surrounded her, discovered that these very elements of contentedness and peacefulness could be reflected in her very own soul as well. The hurricane of thoughts that typically existed in her mind had quieted just like the waves just a few blocks away had lulled in intensity as the night fell. The girl found herself perfectly satisfied to revel in this beautiful moment of solitude and took note of this profound clarity of mind. 

She felt suspended in time. It was almost as though the world around her continued, but time had been paused in this little slice of serenity just for her and her alone. She felt whole and balanced in a way she hadn't for a long time; thus, she rejoiced and celebrated her great gratitude for the world. Though this place may not be where she lived, it certainly felt like home. The familiar ambiance and magically feeling was all she needed at the moment to mend her weary soul. And so she sat. With empty mind but full heart, she allowed the sea to do it's careful healing work.