Dating : Through Ocean Eyes

Two figures stand on the shore, her hand in his.
They wait for the sea to speak.

There is no sun, but the sky plays with color anyway — dissolving threads of gold into orange and red. The fireflies and stars take turns blinking sweet sentiments to each other. The salt air holds its breath, and everything is still, except the waves.

At first, the rhythm is regular.

Rise, crash.

Inhale, exhale.

But before their eyes, the waves start to change. Each crest rises higher and higher and waits longer and longer before breaking. No consistency. No pattern. The water continues to swell, heavy with meaning.

The figures lean into each other, ready to see what the sea has in store for them. The water is happy to oblige. Flashes of memories and fortunes dance in the ripples of the water. Within every curl, a piece of their lives revealed.

This is his and her story, as the ocean sees it.

The shorelines change, from Jersey Shore to Oak Island. Under the stacks of aces, kings, and dreaded red three’s, the table shifts from square to oval. Two towheaded boys shaping sandcastles become married men shaping their own lives. Gulls soar in the air against hundreds of colored skies. Grandchildren wait until dark to capture scuttling crabs with flashlights and buckets. Each night they are lulled to sleep by the same waves and soft breeze — every moment in the sweet comfort of family.

When the final wave breaks, he turns to her and smiles. Who knows where tradition ends and family begins. Perhaps one cannot exist without the other. Why would they ever leave it to chance?

Two figures stand on the shore, her hand in his.
This is where it begins.