My eyes are closed but it isn’t dark. My eyelids can’t shut out the sunlight. The smell of salt and seaweed fill my nostrils and the sounds of quiet and the lullaby gently lapping water fills my ears. My toes dig further into the cool wet sand. My skin is warmed by the strong midday sun that isn’t protected by the fronds of the palm trees and my bathing suit.
I open my eyes and the sunlight temporarily blinds me. My eyes focus on the deep blue sky filled with puffy cotton ball clouds and calm clear ocean in front of me. It’s calling me to go in waist deep and ride the waves or finally learn to float. Well, I’m not ready, but I’ll enjoy the pristine sand as I walk the stretch of untouched fine powder. I put my backpack on start eastward, I can faintly hear a small number of people on the other side of the sand dunes, but this stretch is mine alone for the next few hours and I don’t want to be taken out of my solitary confinement till I have to return to the cruise ship.
Time to think of everything and nothing in this perfect setting is a dream I want to revisit. I can play hermit or castaway with my packed lunch in my swimsuit and philosophize in my notebook without the pressure of deadlines, phone calls, housework or forced interactions is where I long to be for a full day.

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