Blue. Blue was the color of the ocean crashing against the rocks. Blue were the hues that hung lazily in the sky, littered with small, white clouds. Blue were the shadows of the rocks and hills cast over me, stretching across the cool yellow sand. Blue were the tears rolling down my red cheeks, dripping off the tip of my chin and into the water.

I knelt in the sand, my fingers grazing the surface of the deep, dark waves. I closed my eyes and dug my hands into the earth. Water sloshed around my wrists as I pulled a thin stone from the depths of the floor and threw it across the horizon. One, two, three skips before sinking to the bottom once more, until someone else comes, looking for something to cast away.

The sun sank in the sky as my body stayed submerged beneath the waves. I let my eyes dance along the line where the sky met the sea. My clothes clung worriedly to my skin, startled by the coolness of the water. I looked up at the hill of boulders, their darkness thrown like a blanket over my small figure. I stood, slowly, and took a step forward. Then another. And another. The water was cool and harsh, begging for me not to go, to stay in the deep for a few moments longer. I let it crash against my ankles, gripping my feet and pulling me back. But by the time I reached dry sand, the ocean had calmed, and any anger that remained had been reduced to a small ripple left by my last footprint. I let my mind and body wander to the hill of rocks, tall and ominous. I placed a hand on the warm, gravelly surface, feeling the life, the beating heart of nature that called me to the top of the cliff. I lifted my right foot, then my left, then both my hands to a higher ledge. My mind stayed calm with the setting sun as I let my body take me to the top of the hill. I had finally reached the top. My arms and legs shook with relief as I laid flat against the cool stone. The only light that remained was that of the glow emanating from those few remaining clouds, all of which migrated with the sun as it drifted beneath the horizon. I watched as they glided with ease through the ever-changing sky, admiring each little sparkling detail. The blues, yellows, reds, and pinks that mixed lovingly into each other, as if created from the simple magic of paint and brush. The ocean, reflective of the sky, yet original in a way that no human could imitate. The shadows, which told stories of love and harmony and peace that one could only dream of. I let out a cry as the beautiful lights of nature slowly faded. As the clouds reached the horizon. As the blues and yellows and reds and pinks faded to a miserable, inky black. As the ocean lost it’s reflectiveness, and thus, its wonder. As the shadows blended with the night sky. As today became tomorrow.