My Bright Sunny Day by Rhiannon Bates
The loud shambles of people talking, the crashing of the waves against the rocks, the birds screeching up above in the fluffy blue sky, the lifeguards whistling signals at the people below and the merry-go-around sound of the ice-cream vans are just some of the sounds swimming around my head, like a fish in the deep blue sea. My mind starts to wander back to the wonderful day I have just lived.
We are jumping waves, me, my dad and my brother, Aran. My dad lifts me up, above his head, to keep me above the waves. Around us there are hundreds of people making the most of a beautiful day. My mind fast forwards onto us catching the waves on our body boards. We race, faster and faster; trying to get the closest to the beach as if we are racing for our lives. Aran zooms ahead of me, but I overtake him and win the race. He runs over to me and picks me up, then drops me in the water; I rise above the water laughing, my smile spreading from ear to ear.
My mouth starts to water as I remember the great taste of the cookie dough ice-cream I had. The creamy taste of the vanilla ice-cream as it drips down the cone before I quickly lick it up, All of a sudden, my dad is beside me and bites a big chunk out of my ice-cream. I hand my ice-cream to my mum before chasing my dad down to the water. When I am fully satisfied that I have soaked him enough, I walk back to the beach and continue licking my delicious ice-cream.
I start to think about the smell of the beach: a salty smell combined with the coconut scent of the sun cream which people are lathering on themselves. My gran is among those people, “Remember to put your sun cream on. You’ll bum otherwise.” However, we, the kids, don’t bother. All we can think of is having fun!
I can still feel the sand slipping through my fingers as we build a sand castle. The sand sparkling all around us, showing off its beautiful colour. I think about how, when I was little, I used to imagine there were diamonds in the sand and I would be rich if I could collect all of them. I looked down at the shell in my hand. The grooves and texture are smooth and gentle as I run my finger across it. I look across the beach to see hundreds of children making their dream castles of sand.
The sun beaming down on me makes me glow inside. Erika, my sister and I lie side by side soaking up the sun’s golden rays. I close my eyes and I feel myself slipping asleep. The bright sun covers me like a warm duvet. I awake to the sound of the seagulls around us. They are like vultures looking for their prey. They swoop down to the sand as if begging for someone to feed them.
I think about when my sister and I walked across the beach, the sand hot beneath our feet. As we walk, I see people playing volleyball - the ball soaring up into the sky then tumbling back down just to be hit back up into the sky. We continue along the beach to some stalls selling jewellery and sunglasses. The jewellery sparkles as if winking at me. All along the beach everything is the same. It is as if there is a mirror and I am looking at the reflection. Everywhere I look, there are people sunbathing, people building sandcastles, people splashing about in the water people playing games, people eating, sleeping and reading. Like sheep, they follow the example others set.
The drip, drip, drip of the shower is refreshing as the cool water trickles over my swimsuit. I can feel myself cooling off; my head first, then gradually it moves down till I am cool all over. I try to stay under the shower for as long as possible before stepping out to the blazing heat.
It makes me sad to think of the first cloud up above in the sky as I realise the end of my day is coming soon. As the dark clouds begin to gather and the sky begins to rumble and my bright, sunny day starts to roll away, all I can think is, ‘I wish everyday could be like this.’
