Morning had collided gently with the night sky as though embracing a friend and Maya watched quite awe-stuck but unquestioning whilst night and day would swing and sway as though they were dancing to a song with no rhythm nor reason and no need for either. It was as if with the blink of her eye she had the power to cast the world in shadow and light. For the moment she felt like exploring and so she turned her head to the seven suns that were now shining in the sky and she smiled at them one by one as if to say good morning. Of course the suns did not smile nor speak but they beamed with an intensified exuberance which told her she had been heard and offered seven good mornings in reply.
The waves were calm and welcoming and as she wandered across the shore they ran in greeting, eagre to welcome her, swallowing her feet and sinking them into the sandbed, gathering around her ankles with a playful tickle. She knelt, and noticed for the first time, the hem of a white cotton gown, which dipped into the water as she lowered herself. There were no questions in those first few moments, no awareness of how long each scene lasted. Just the renaissance of an awe and wonder which was so often kept contained in life. Maya had sensed it more than many. In moments when she would glance upon a skyline or hillside or mountain top and be taken aback by the graciousness of its mighty beauty which seemed to reach out to her with invisible arms and whisper a feeling which she had never been able to find the words for. Perhaps if she had been able to think back in those first few moments, she might have thought of words like awe and wonder, or smaller words like connected and okay. Yet in those first few hours, days, weeks or however long it was her mind did not look back into itself upon the path which had led her here.
Instead she smiled at the light cotton gown and took a moment to sense its almost weightlessness next to her skin before dipping her hands in the sea water and noticing its warmth. She splashed it against her skin. Her face, her arms. The spray felt like a thousand kisses greeting someone who had just returned home. Maya felt her whole body wake up at the water’s embrace. She felt energy run through her body and saw her legs begin to gently splash through the welcoming waves as she ran lightly into the ocean and her lips let out a cry of laughter. Joy. Maybe that was the word. But is seemed simpler then that.
Dancing with her reflection which bent and stretched across the waves, Maya felt at peace with the distorted vision of self cast across the oscillating ocean. More than that there was a sense the ocean was in harmony with the figure casting a reflection across its canvas. It adored her shape no matter which way it twisted and curved. The sharp edges and smooth lines were all welcome as the waters whispered a compassionate rumble which vibrated through the vision.
The seven suns stretched out their warmth shining upon the spirited antics of the girl and the sea. They watched as she chased the waves and leapt high; as she conquered them. And they glowed as they saw her retreat; the playful ripples grasping at her legs, pulling her into the ocean and waiting to begin all over again whilst she took a moment to roll and frolic in the sands.