Rain & Tide

It was one of my last days; I was dipped below the Cliffs on a quieter beach. The sun was pulsating. I laid down my towel, hesitated behind my friend who was going for a free-body surf. I wanted to experience the water. So, I waded out, and then dipped underneath. The ocean was shallow. I waded out a little further, away from the surfers. The sea chilled my skin, but I was breathing deeply; it was peaceful. As I stood looking out beyond the horizon, I slipped my fingertips underneath the clear waters and waited. For a moment, my mind was blank.

In the middle of the cold waters, I felt warmth around my legs. The seaweed like grass was moving with the waves and hugging my thighs. I had walked into an ocean-field. I watched as the wave pushed it back and forth. The surf-grass was long and stretched out, reaching for the deepest parts of the ocean, as if it wanted to pull from the roots and escape. I watched with sheer fascination, it moved in unison with the wave. Constant motion. 

It was beautiful and it defined my life. An orchestrated change of tide; I would be on the move again soon. And suddenly, I was okay with that. It would cost something, it may still cost everything, but it was worth the risk, I decided, standing there, watching long strands of grass under the water.

***

The plane landed with a slight bump. The 4-hour flight had been rather uneventful as I gorged on the new Star Trek movie and caught a sloppy travel-nap. Moving through the airport would be a rush, I knew. I was ready to be at my destination, and frankly was starving so dinner would have to be a priority once I was in the city.

I found my way through JFK. Thankfully navigation was easy and I was able to find a shuttle to the city, ask directions from a returning New Yorker and get a subway card. It was like any other day, September 11^th. Colleagues told me even the ceremonies were not as eventful as they had been in years past. It was an average day for most New Yorkers. And I joined in the workaholic feeling, my head already creating a long to do list.

My first morning in New York was early, the city was still semi quiet, but I knew that would change. On the upper west side of Manhattan and only one story up; I could see grey skies. The rain was coming. The muggy temperatures would drop and the reality of a much cooler place would set in – which only meant one thing, I would have to move fast to stay warm.  I slipped into a hot shower, and stood in the heat, letting the running water relax my shoulders and back. The coming days would be long – was I ready for it? No. But that didn’t matter, I would have to push hard anyway.  

Another season, fall…forward, the common state of my humanness. So, let’s see where this city takes me.