I dug my toes into the soft white sand, watching as I made a gentle crease on the shore. The sound of the waves surrounded me, the frothy water inching towards me with the passing minutes. I could hear children screaming nearby, squealing with delight as they splashed around in the water, their parents calling out cautions.
I smiled and leaned behind onto my elbows, looking up into the clear blue sky. For a moment I was lost in it all; the smells, the sounds, the feel of the sand.
“Bonjour.”
I looked next to me to see a young boy, perhaps eight or nine, kneeling next to me with a blue sand bucket clutched in his hands. His black hair fell messily against his forehead, contrasting sharply against his tanned skin.
“Ca va?” he asked, with a toothy smile.
“Oui, bien, merci,” I said, smiling back at him curiously.
“Why are you smiling at me?” he asked, an eyebrow raised.
“Because you smiled?” I replied, stumbling against my words. I wasn’t sure how to react to this boy; I had never been good with children.
He frowned, and then nodded, as if temporarily satisfied with my answer. He brandished a yellow plastic spade from his pocket and started digging a little hole next to me.
“I want to work in an airport when I grow up,” he said abruptly. “Maybe I’ll be a pilot. Or maybe I’ll be one of those people who work at the Check-in. That might be nice. I’ll get to speak on a mike. Have you been on plane?”
“I have - ” I started.
“You know, you’re a bit fat,” he said, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me up and down.
I opened my mouth, a retort on the tip of my tongue.
“But I think you’re pretty,” he continued, “I like your eyes.”
“Thank –“
“But I still think you’re a bit fat,” he interrupted. “Maybe you shouldn’t eat so much. My dad’s a doctor, he says its not good to be fat. See, I’m skinny.”
He poked himself in the ribs as a demonstration, and broke into a loud giggly laugh.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked me.
“That’s really none of your business,” I said, hearing the annoyance in my own voice.
He giggled again.
“My girlfriend’s name is Pierre. But don’t tell anyone! It’s a secret!” he said, looking around quickly.
I laughed, my annoyance ebbing way as my face broke into a grin.
“You’re smiling at me again! Why?” he asked, propping himself up, his hands against his hips.
“Nothing, I just think you’re funny,” I said, unable to stop myself from smiling.
He looked at me, his dark eyes digging into a mine for a moment. He shook his head and sighed, as if he was exasperated at me, and continued digging a hole. We ignored each other for a few minutes.
“Why are you digging a hole?” I questioned, curiosity getting the better of me.
“No reason,” he said, not looking at me.
“You’re digging a hole…for no reason,” I said sarcastically.
“Yes. Do you have to do everything for a reason?” he asked, looking up at me.
My voice caught in my throat. Whether he had intended it or not, he had asked me one of the questions that I had struggled with throughout my life. Why did I demand that I have a reason for everything? Need everything require a plausible explanation?
“I suppose so,” I said slowly. “Or else, what would be the point?”
“Well, I think that’s very boring,” he said, in a matter-of-fact tone. “Loads of things have no reasons.”
“Like what?” I asked him. He was intriguing as much as he was annoying.
“Well, like me talking to you. I’m not doing it for any reason. If I needed a reason, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now.”
Yes, and that would be a bad thing because…? I thought to myself.
He frowned at me, as if sensing my thoughts.
“You’re very boring,” he told me.
“Uh….”
“You are going to grow old and die without doing a lot of things, just because you didn’t have a reason. You think too much. My dad says you shouldn’t think too much, it stops you from living. You should live more. And eat less. Haha!”
His laugh carried into his twinkling eyes as he ignored the frown on my face.
“Papa!” he shouted suddenly, waving his spade into the air and spraying sand all over me.
“Oops,” he said giggling as he got up. “Bye bye, and don’t tell anyone about Pierre!”
I watched his back as he ran to his father, throwing sand from his bucket onto innocent sunbathers. I laughed and got up, heading towards my parents. I plopped onto the sand next to my father.
“I want to drive home today,” I declared to him.
“Sure,” he said. “Why?”
“No reason,” I said, a smile crinkling against the corners of my lips. Perhaps I will take the boy’s advice, I thought. And it was definitely time to go on a diet.
