Prologue:

Did you ever wonder who you are? Do you ever wonder as you stare into the stars? Where you began? And how you got this far from home?

Have you ever ran across the shore? Have you ever seen the dancing water move back and forth? Did you look inside to see if there was more?

“I’ll race you to that buoy over there and back!” I laugh happily as my hair swishes behind my tanned back. I stumble awkwardly over the smooth grains of sand as my legs pump fast and hard towards the glistening water awaiting me. The sun is kissing my cheeks, and the breath of fresh air wraps me into a welcoming embrace. Opening up my arms to the sky and then quickly to the bay in front of me, I jump off the deck and gracefully dive into the cool waters below. The water tickles me to the spine, and my eyes pop open to see if John is behind. Seeing a darkening shadow behind me, my heart beats like a hummingbird. He’s going to beat me. I start kicking my legs rapidly and bring my arms into a front crawl position. The water’s spitting against my face, as my hands smash the water in front of me. Arm, arm,arm, breathe. I give it all I have for the last stretch, and pump like crazy. Not taking the time to get air, I reach the buoy as my fingers slam into the splintered wood. Pushing myself up, I gasp heavily for air. As I swing my legs back and forth in the water, I see the John swim up next to me.

“Haha, you’re getting really good I see,” he shakes his head, letting all the loose drops of sweat and sea sting my face.

“Ahh,” I scream and push him away from the buoy. We both make a big splash into the water and I stay there to watch bubbles fly up over his face. Suddenly, remembering that we need to race back, I rise up, “ Race ya back too!” I chuckle forgetting the water in my mouth. I cough heavily as John comes up and pats me on the back. The bet is off and we both start to slowly swim our way back to shore. Stroke by stroke, and a word by word. When we reach the shore, the suns setting. Colours swirling in the milky blue sky. We walk towards the cabin, our families around the campfire singing songs. Ashes and smoke rose like steam into the night sky. Twelve years old, not a care for the world. Childhood friends, would be best friends forever.

© Cecilia Pang 2014