September 27th, 2017
I was standing on the shore a just few yards from the ocean. The sand felt cold under my feet. There was a stiff wind out of the west blowing at my back. It was still dark. The morning star hung over the restless water like a glowing jewel. Above me and to my left, I could look up to the sky and see Orion and Sirius.
I looked straight ahead at the waves that crashed against the shore. I could hear the breakers better than I could see them. In the distance I could make out the edge of the horizon. There was a dim, orange glow coming from there. The orange color wasn’t consistent. There were thin lines of darkness between the bands of orange light. It reminded me of a diffraction experiment.
Karin came up from behind me. She was still in her bed clothes. She looked at the eastern sky in awe. She shivered. She told me that she was cold, and that she needed to get dressed. She would be back soon to watch the sunrise.
Jules had been up and awake before I came out to the beach. I talked to him as I left the beach house. I told him,
“I’m going out to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic.”
Jules smiled, “Go ahead.”
“Well, I don’t know if I will ever see it again.”
Jules smiled again, “Yeah, you’re right. Go on out.”
The beach house wasn’t actually on the beach. It was one house way from it. It was a quick walk from the door of the cottage to the ocean. I heard and smelt the sea before I saw it.
Once I got to shore, I just stared out into the distance. My eyes grew accustomed to the dim light. I noticed that I was not alone. Other people were with me on the beach. One man held a rod and reel. A woman stood on the beach far to my left.
Karin came back out. She was excited. She started taking pictures with her phone. The orange light gradually grew brighter. There was the outline of a ship in the distance. Oddly enough, as the light grew stronger, the waves seemed darker. The water looked black except where there was foam.
I noticed clouds on the horizon. They were dark on top, and were illuminated pink underneath. The glow spread and turned slowly to a bright yellow.
The yellow spread and grew brighter. Then an intense light pierced the sky’s edge. It started as a small point and then it became a blinding semi-circle on the horizon.
The sun.
Soon it was a circle of dazzling light, white and yellow mixed. I couldn’t look at it directly. I gazed around and saw my surroundings take on form and shape. Seagulls were suddenly visible. Sounds were muted as my eyes became my dominant sense. Karin and I went from a dreamscape to a sharp reality.
Karin and I stood on the shore for a while longer. We savored the sunrise. We lingered there. Then we turned back to the beach house. Jules was making tofu eggs for breakfast.
Frank is Emptiness 