He could no longer see where the ocean ended and the sky began. There was nothing but darkness, and the wind bristling through his hair was coming from that darkness. The faint chime of a buoy was barely audible over the sound of the waves, but he knew it was out there. There was something else out there on this night, although what it was was still uncertain.
The young boy at his side gripped his hand tightly. "Daddy, what are you looking at?"
"Not looking," he replied. "Waiting."
The surf was nearly at their feet. As each new wave bid farewell, the wet sand inched closer and closer. The wind was beginning to pick up and he could tell that the boy was growing restless.
"It's getting colder, daddy. We've been here forever."
"Forever?" he replied. "I said the same thing to my father when he took me here. I was the same age as you are now. And I was full of questions also."
The boy began to shiver as he continued to follow his father's gaze. Staring out towards nothing. Although there was something.
"What we're waiting for... has been here forever. But us? We're just a blip. We've barely been here for an instant."
Cold and confused, the boy didn't know how to respond. His father had always been mysterious and distant, but this was something different. For the first time in his life, the boy was afraid of him. For the first time he didn't know if he should trust him.
"What are we waiting for?" he asked, loosening the grip on his father's hand.
A soft rumbling sound began in the distance and grew louder and louder as the waves carried it towards them. The boy stepped back, but his father kept hold of his hand.
"Our family has many secrets. Things that I have purposely kept from you for many years." For the first time since they arrived, he looked down at his son. "You're old enough now to know the truth."
"Not looking," he replied. "Waiting."
The surf was nearly at their feet. As each new wave bid farewell, the wet sand inched closer and closer. The wind was beginning to pick up and he could tell that the boy was growing restless.
"It's getting colder, daddy. We've been here forever."
"Forever?" he replied. "I said the same thing to my father when he took me here. I was the same age as you are now. And I was full of questions also."
The boy began to shiver as he continued to follow his father's gaze. Staring out towards nothing. Although there was something.
"What we're waiting for... has been here forever. But us? We're just a blip. We've barely been here for an instant."
Cold and confused, the boy didn't know how to respond. His father had always been mysterious and distant, but this was something different. For the first time in his life, the boy was afraid of him. For the first time he didn't know if he should trust him.
"What are we waiting for?" he asked, loosening the grip on his father's hand.
A soft rumbling sound began in the distance and grew louder and louder as the waves carried it towards them. The boy stepped back, but his father kept hold of his hand.
"Our family has many secrets. Things that I have purposely kept from you for many years." For the first time since they arrived, he looked down at his son. "You're old enough now to know the truth."
A flash of lightening in the distance caught the father's attention, briefly revealing where the ocean met the sky. Another soft rumbling accompanied the flash, and as the sound dissipated into the void, so did the horizon.
The boy tugged on his fathers arm. "Daddy, it's going to start raining. Can we please go home?"
"That's not a storm. And if we leave now, we won't have any home to go back to."
The boy tugged on his fathers arm. "Daddy, it's going to start raining. Can we please go home?"
"That's not a storm. And if we leave now, we won't have any home to go back to."
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