Universal Glow
Seth dug his fingers into the sand below him, letting it sift through his fingers. He did it over and over, letting the motion become mindless meditation. It was late—after midnight at least—and the solitude on the beach was welcome.
His mind had been whirling for days, jumping from one plan to the other, trying to decide what to do with his life. He’d lost his job and been dumped just a few weeks before he was scheduled to fly to Puerto Rico. Going on the trip wasn’t the practical choice. He had no idea when he’d find a new job and he only had a few months of savings squirreled away. Seth had always done what was practical. His ex-boyfriend had always complained about that.
His first instinct had been to cancel the trip but something had urged him to go anyway. It felt like a tiny nudge from the universe telling him not to do what was practical for once.
Puerto Rico seemed as good a place as any for him to mull over what he wanted to do with his future. He hadn’t loved his job, so getting laid off wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. It was, however, inconvenient when he had no idea what his future held. He felt like he needed a fresh start. Like he was ready to dismantle his whole life and start from scratch.
Tiny sparks of blue light began to appear, speckling the dark water like fireflies. It grew until the whole shoreline glowed blue, moving in soothing, rhythmic waves with the motion of the water. Awe thickened his throat and made his heart beat fast.
Intellectually, Seth knew the light was caused by bioluminescent dinoflagellates—a type of bacteria—but it didn’t make the moment any less wondrous. He felt like he was a part of something—the vast and infinite universe stretching before him, enfolding him in its arms.
Seth flopped onto his back to stare at the sky, the pinpricks of light from the stars gleaming brightly. A dark figure appeared in his field of vision, peering down at him.
“You alright?”
Seth nodded and took a deep breath, propping himself up on one elbow to look at the guy. The blue glow of the dinoflagellates was beginning to fade and Seth felt a sense of calm settle through him.
“Yeah,” he said. “I think I’m going to be.”
This is a very late entry, but I hope you enjoyed it.
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I look forward to seeing you next Monday!