….And I Had No Answer

There are few things as pleasurable as watching a ribbon of white frothy waves kiss a sandy shore.

I had just finished walking the entire stretch of the beach. I could hardly describe the way the hues of the skyline had changed during the walk. It was like watching a motion picture with the sky as the screen. The beach was really clean and the sand was almost white. My toes sank comfortably into the sand. I had never known that I could enjoy silence so much as I did now, for the only sound was that of the calm waves that occasionally reached my toes. The sea breeze played with my open hair, I knew they would get terribly knotty later but I really didn’t care. I felt as if I was treading into a most beautiful picture postcard.

I had reached the point where one could see the entire shoreline curving gracefully. I decided to stand awhile and savour the breath-taking view before me. Further down the beach, I saw a young boy pacing frantically to and fro. He looked very preoccupied about something and there was a hint of stress on his face. In such a calm location I couldn’t imagine anyone being worried.

I decided to walk back along the beach after a few moments. As I reached closer, I could see that the young lad was searching for something. His small nimble fingers were swiftly raking the sand as he rummaged through the grains. I stood awhile watching him before asking him what it was that he was looking for. He had apparently lost his ring on the beach last evening and had come searching for it this morning. He seemed quite confident that he had not dropped it near the sea as he had mostly been walking towards the other end of the beach. I did feel slightly sorry for him but I really couldn’t imagine how he expected to get his ring back.

After a pause, I spoke, “I’m not really sure you’ll find that ring of yours, kid”

He had been peering into the sand all this while, but at this he looked up and asked, “Why would you say that?”

“Well, the beach is huge! The tides have come and gone! How can you ever expect to find it?”

The boy looked at me for a moment and then answered with an innocently questioning look, “If a sailor on the high seas can expect to find his way to a shore he hasn’t even seen, I can surely expect to find my ring on a shore I can see.”

...And I had no answer.