I stood on the beach, looking over the endless blue water. The ocean seemed never-ending; it was an unclear and mysterious place. The large waves glistened like glass as they rose and rose and rose, until they were lined with white foam. They raced along the water quickly, trying to outrun themselves. Soon, the middle of the wave lagged behind the top until it curved inward. I heard the swoosh of the crest collapse upon itself, spraying mist of saltwater on my nose. I wanted to go in, to feel the foam remnant of the wave against my ankles as I gazed into the horizon, still tinted blue with the water.

I felt as if I should look for It, the precious thing I had lost, over and over again to the unrelenting blue. Every time I thought about It, my heart became heavy, as if a part of it was sighing with lonesomeness. I poked my toe into the wet sand, contemplating my options. If I go into the water, there is a possibility I will find It. I could find It, then the world would regain its wonderful light. If I go in, I could also drown. I could swim and swim, and dive and dive until I run out of breath or am too exhausted to continue. If I stay on shore, I am safe. the waves cannot reach me; I will never be short of breath or tired. If I stay on shore, I will never find It. It will remain in the ocean forever, drifting as the waves and sand push it from place to place. My friends all tell me that I have to look for It, to never give up. They told me to jump in straight away because it was silly not to. They say that someone who lives right on the ocean their whole life shouldn't be scared of it. It is much more difficult than you would imagine though, to jump in. The waves crash down hard against me, making the air tight in my chest. As soon as you get into the water, it is an endless game of continuing to swim out hurriedly, so the next blue water giant doesn't pounce on you. You swim, rest, see a wave, swim, rest. Soon enough, you will just see another wave. This endless game soon becomes tiresome.

I decide to get in, to find It, the thing I have been looking for. I swim, dive, swim, dive, and the words of my friends tell me on to continue forward. I can no longer stand; I struggle to stay afloat in the deep waters. Just then, I saw It! It shone among the sand and the rocks in the water beneath me, calling to me to dive for It. I sucked in all the air I could; my lungs practically burst. I dove down into the cold blue water. Immediately, I could feel the inner turmoil of the waves. Waves are not just a surface apparition, you know. The majority of the complication, the disturbance, happens where the beach walkers and sun tanners cannot see. There are endless circles of waves: They swim forward, rest, and the next one approaches. They swim forward, and dive into their creating waters once more. They swirl, swirl, swirl, never ceasing in energy and intensity. They continue their unrelenting journey toward you; never-ending.

As I swam down, down, down, down, toward it, these circles of complication twirled me about: down into the sand and rocks, then popping me back to the surface. Despite this, I swam down. My muscles pumped, burned. I circled my limbs again and again, over and over, until I could no longer continue. For a moment I sat still, in between sets of waves, staring down at It. It had seemed so close, all this time, as if I could just reach down and grab It. Water does not show depth very well- five inches and five feet of water do not look that different from the surface. I groped, swim, swim, swim, my way back to the surface, hoping for just one drink of the air above me. I gasped, inhaling the salty air. As quickly as it had began, I was shoved once more under the water by the oncoming waver. Swim, dive, swim, dive. I foraged once more toward It, as It lay in the sand. My hands desperately reached out toward It, groping the sand and hoping to grasp It. With the tiniest little movement, the tiniest little misstep, my fingers touched down into the sand and disturbed all of the sand around It. Just like I had seen It so quickly, I just as quickly saw It disappear.

This is a question that all of us must face: should we reach down for it? Are we willing to dive into the deep water?