day one

day one.

the sea was ablaze with the blue flame of portuguese man-o-war, cresting the surface in spiderweb networks for miles and miles. He walked to the end of the dock slowly, surveying the shimmering azure swells. it was getting dark earlier now, as the last days of this indian summer were passing faster and faster. every year it goes faster he thought. He shifted his weight. The dock faced west, and the sun was halfway through it's annual migration south, changing the angles of the shadows and making it so you could stare directly out across the sea from the dock without having to squint so much. The sun was about an hour from retirement for the day and he sat down and rolled up his pant leg, brushing the wet sand off of it as he folded the denim, and then rolled up the other one. The dock was one intended for use with small boats, and for children to jump off of in the summer and to fish off of in the winter. His pasty legs dangled off the dock, with his feet just inches away from the water where jellyfish swarmed ambivalently. He leaned forward to more closely examine the aquatic community and contemplated the amount of pain and slim likelihood of survival of a swim with these beautiful creatures. For a split second he thought he should jump but he then threw himself back violently. He wouldn't have jumped into the water, but felt adrenaline gush through his veins nonetheless. you'll have to go in sometime, he thought, jellyfish or no.