The Sea

I took my friend to Hua Hin which is a beach town. It’s during the weekday so the whole town was sleeping even when the sun was out (that’s the illusion). On a sunny day, the blue sea drew a line against the grey sand, distinguishing itself from the land. On a rainy day, one in which we arrived, the sea, also grey, embraced the shore, mixing itself along with the sky into one great world of calm greyness.

We went down to play in the water. It was so murky that I sensed a bit of fear as I take a step deeper into the sea. The sand, however, with its soft texture that massages each of my toes gently told me to go forward. Why should I be scared? If I do nothing to nature, nature will do nothing to me. I lay down the back of my head into the sea; the water is pretty warm. I looked up to see the seagulls dive down towards the Earth and a perfect marriage between the sea and the sky is complete in what seemed to be a melancholic day.

We played around with sand and the crabs. The color of man’s skin matched the landscape, blending mankind into the picture as well. I held two or three crabs in my hands, curious at how they might want to escape. Some of them tried and tried and eventually did. Some didn’t and stayed still. They escaped with no scratch on my hand. The didn’t hit me. They left peacefully, returning to their holes. This simple activity of playing God against the sea creatures was somewhat meditative. I, like many people, needed some kind of way to extinguish my superiority complex against other creatures weaker than me. Showing mercy yielded the greatest satisfaction.

The best feeling was the shower after going into the sea. You feel refreshed but in a different way from a shower after an exercise. A small streak of smell from the sea is woven into your skin. You also smell the shampoo and artificial soap. Together, it makes you feel refreshed.