The wind blowing on Long Island’s beaches is no ordinary wind; it’s the kind that blows away all your worries, anxieties, and burdens accumulated over who knows how long. It does not strike to hurt; on the contrary, its powerful gusts gently liberate you. As the wind envelops you, you feel it like a beloved soul enveloping you with love. 

You crave more of it – that sensation of freedom and strength with every breath. The waves, mighty and relentless, crash against the shore, leaving behind foam that shimmers in the sunlight, looking from afar like a mound of tiny stars. And occasionally, as the sun hides behind clouds, it seems as if the sand is covered in glitter. 

Deep prints in the Sand

I left my footprints in that sand, deeply imprinted in a moment that belongs only to me. Before me stretches an endless sandy path, so long it allows me to run aimlessly. With each step, it feels as if I’m releasing the ground beneath me, experiencing a freedom I haven’t felt in a long time. As I run, it seems like I’m in slow motion, like a scene from a movie. The wind sweeps through my hair, and the world around me loses its weight.

At one point, I pause, kneel, and let the sand slip through my fingers. In this simple act, I find a return to childhood, to those carefree days when small things were enough. I build a sandcastle just like I did when I was six on the beaches of Korčula. I add seawater, pat, shape, and feel as though I’m rediscovering parts of myself that I lost long ago.

Pattering on the Sandcastle 

At one moment, I realize my hands are patting mechanically, my mind in a state of total emptiness and tranquility. That moment when all the buzzing in my head stops, when I simply exist – was a gift I had long awaited. Here, on this sand, I found my peace. I’m recharging, not fearing the end of this experience, knowing that new adventures await. The footprints I have left, each step in the golden sand, endure a few more waves, each one unique and singular, just like the moment it was made.

And as I watch those footprints disappear beneath the frothy waves, I understand that they were not meant to last forever there. There was some peaceful and at the same moment strange beauty in their vanishing. 

Everything seems easier when you steps away a little.