The Birthday Gift

To the boy with the brightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Happy Birthday!

At the edge of a thirty foot cliff, there he stood, tall, lean, dark-complected. The cool wind ruffled his brown hair, as it pushed his clothing against his back, making it stick to his skin. He stood there, staring at the water below him with eyes that were bluer than the bright blue cove.

The waves tumbled against the edge of the rocks and broke in heaps of white foam. His lashes fluttered against his cheeks as he raised his eyes to the setting sun on the horizon. He didn’t want to miss one more second of the dipping sun, this present the world had presented him on his birthday.

Beneath his feet he imagined the water he had been analyzing only a moment earlier. It was so clear that you could see the fish and the coral twenty feet beneath the surface. Though it seemed crystal clear the water appeared to have a blue tint to it, making it magically intoxicating, and mysteriously alluring. It almost seemed to call to him, but he couldn’t miss the moment that the sun disappeared.


Blue
In the summer breeze
Smell of salty water
Flowing through the leaves


The breeze fluttered against him once more. He took his hands out of his pockets, and extended his arms out from his sides, standing in a cross, offering himself to the world around him, and feeling the cool air hit his skin through the thin fabric of his shirt.

He closed his eyes, and threw his head back, for a moment to feel the moment. He reveled in the feeling of the sunset and the water. The memory of the sunset caused his head to lean back up and his eyes to fly open with a sudden urgency. Seeing the sun still before him brought the peace back to him, allowing him to relax.

Lowering his arms back to his sides he drew in a deep breath. The salty air filled his lungs and his eyes flashed with appreciation. Nothing could change this place for him. It was eternally powerful and majestic.


Bright
Flashing lightning
In the brightest orbs
Seeing into crystal coves


His imagination ran off with him as he stared at the wisps of clouds floating around the orange of the sunset. He imagined the air flowing past him as he tumbled, the cool rush of water on his skin, the exhilaration of touching the coral so far below the surface. As the sun dipped further and further below the edge of the world he imagined.

The warm air would have been sticky if it weren’t for the persistent breeze that kept him cool. Though he was not uncomfortable, the water’s appeal was undeniable. Every moment made the undeniable more attainable.


Free
All consuming
Rushing in below
Cooler, darker, gloriously bold


Brightening his eyes sparked as he focused more on the last seconds the sky had color. The oranges and reds flowed together behind soft wisps. A thin line of light remained above quickly darkening horizon, taunting him as it danced on the water.

His legs bent, his arms raised from his sides and his powerful legs pushed him into the air. He flipped as the whistling air flew past him and he at last felt the coolness around him. As the water rushed in around him he opened his eyes to seeing himself approaching the coral. He reached out and touched it. He felt at peace for as the sun had finally dipped below the horizon he had made his leap from the twenty foot cliff into the bright blue cove.