Meet Laurel

Now, as Laurel looked out toward the ocean across the wooden deck worn to gray, she saw the first streaks of light painting the sky. The water had begun to take on an ethereal luminescence that accompanied the changing light. A tune played through her head, and she whispered the words “here comes the sun”.

Last year I wrote a short story about Laurel, who was starting over after facing a tragedy. She fled to the beach, mostly because there’s always been something calming and therapeutic about the beach and the ocean to me.

I love this passage, because it describes one of my favorite time of day to be near the ocean. When the last bright bit of sun is touching the horizon, the color of the water transforms into colored pearls. It's soft and muted, and it looks like nothing else I've ever seen. The waves are quieter, the sand is almost empty of sunburned shoulders and seashell buckets.

It's a magical time to be there, and a beautiful vantage point to watch the day come to a close. When I'm stressed or anxious, being at the beach and breathing in and out with the waves stills my mind. And when I think about the untold number of times that water has washed up and down on the sand, I realize my concerns aren't too big too handle, maybe they're just too new or too raw.

I can’t wait to tell you more about Laurel. For now, see her story