Summer :)

Summer is shooting down a water slide in the middle of the afternoon. Before you  begin your wild journey down the slide, you see many, many beach towels strewn around the grassy areas of the waterpark, and everyone is wearing a bright bathing suit, creating a rainbow of people milling around the slides. As you go down the first dip of the watery journey, your inner tube races down the slide faster than the water. Sunlight and water washes into your eyes, and glimmers of blue sky above join the swirling, rapid motion of the ride. A freeing, flying feeling bursts in your chest, and you throw your hands up to the sky and scream, partly because the slide is going so fast, and partly because you cannot contain the sunshine in your heart.

            Summer is flying across water so fast that the skis strapped to your feet glide on the surface. You hold the rope attached to the back of the speed boat with both hands and look across the water. Blue water meets the blue sky in an epic collision that spans the horizon. The boat engine roars as the driver increases the boat’s speed and turns sharply. You scream and run into the tall wake left by the boat. Losing your balance, you hit the water with a huge splash.

            Summer is walking outside at night when there’s not a cloud in the sky. Standing in the middle of your driveway, you feel a gentle, warm breeze stir. The trees around your house rustle and whisper. You raise your eyes to the sky and the air evacuates your lungs. God must have knocked over an intergalactic bottle of glitter. Stars cover the sky and look like an angel’s nightclub as they pulse and twinkle almost rhythmically. You can almost see dancing, winged beings performing a disco in time to the sparkling lights. The scene is so much bigger than you, and so refreshing, you lie down on the still-warm cement of the driveway and watch a shooting star fall gracefully into the atmosphere.

            Summer is sitting on the beach with your friends and your secret crush, secret meaning he doesn’t even know you “have a thing” for him. The sun blazes down on all of you, and everyone decides to take a dip in the cool water. The blue sky reflects in your crush’s eyes as he stops, turns to you, and smiles. When he holds out his hand to help you up, butterflies beat inside your stomach, just as real and alive as the butterflies that swirl around the colorful beach towels strewn around you. You take his hand and he lifts you up. Running to the water, you hear a Katy Perry song blast from someone’s stereo. Smiling, you dive in and the cool water stimulates your skin. Your senses are rarely this clear, but you are unaware of anything else but that fact that he hasn’t let your hand go, and you never want him to.