The View
We moved to this small coastal city three weeks ago. It’s hard adjusting from the busy city life to a life in a coastal community where their major revenue comes from tourism. Even harder going to a high school whose football games were the main entertainment on a Friday night and going to the beach was the way students cut class. Though a sunny day is best wasted at the beach rather than class, I don’t see why the beach is something that people need to cut school to do. I can’t see what the big deal is about the beach. One day in passing, I heard a neighbor talking about a great view that always kept her amazed. It was a hidden little cove down the street. Listening carefully I heard her softly give the directions to this magical place, maybe then I would finally understand why the beach is such a big deal around here. The woman described the path: you have to jump the fence that was recently put up to “restore the wildlife” and continue down the grass hidden path to the eucalyptus grove. After ducking and climbing over a few tree limbs you’ll come out to an alcove with a bent tree branch that is perfect for sitting; the branch is just far enough away from the edge of the cliff for safety and privacy, but close enough that you can see the water and shore. The eucalyptus leaves on the ground, crushed by your shoes, mix with the sea air and create a one-of-a-kind scent that relaxes you and makes you fall in love with the beach.
At least that’s how the woman described it. I now sit in this cove. I jumped the fence, though there was no “restore the wildlife” sign, only a rusted plaque that was bolted to the rusted fence. I climbed over and ducked under dead tree limbs that must have fallen during a storm many years ago. I found the branch that was supposed to be perfect for sitting, so close to the edge of the cliff that you could see what fate awaited you if you took a wrong step. The dead and rotting eucalyptus leaves did crush beneath my feet and mix with the sea air, but it didn’t create a scent that made me fall in love with the beach. As I sit here, in this cove, the breeze rustles the leaves behind me, I hear a twig snap next to me, and I realize that the dead and grotesque branch that I am sitting on is away from the edge just enough that people cannot see me from the beach and the waves are crashing loudly on the shore, so loudly that no one could hear me scream.
