The waterfall danced in the background as Freedom and Me played in the sand creating their mountain. They had been constructing for days. It had become so tall that they had built rough scaffolding to reach the height of their creation, moving it higher and higher into the sky.
Chick a dee dee dee
Chick a dee dee
Chick a dee dee dee
Chick a dee dee
Melody…she had returned… Melody was back… It had been days since sighting her.
Me loathed when Melody was away. She held an uneasy emptiness inside that would not leave until her return. It was as if part of her “being”… included Melody.
Melody perched herself on top of the configuration and said nothing.
Me began to speak but caught herself as she noticed the intensity of Melody’s gaze looking down onto what had become a mammoth structure. Me said nothing….
Finally….
So what do we have here, My child?
Me gleamed with excitement. Freedom and I have been working for days on our castle….look at how tall it rises Melody?….We want to keep building until we can touch the stars.
Melody picked herself up from her perch and began flying slowing and methodically around and around the mountain of sand until she landed softly onto the earth below. She was searching for stress-cracks in the mountain’s construction. She found none. The creative imagination was simple, uncomplicated, yet meticulously executed. Me had pierced small driftwood twigs into the face of the wall, creating what appeared to be numerous perches. Attached to each perch, were woven tiny appendages of vegetation. Melody chuckled….these sites were obviously created for her to enjoy.
Me could barely contain herself. Her eyes squinted tightly, trying to follow Melody’s tiny presence below as she and Freedom began the descent from their ladder in the sky.
Melody planted herself on the sailboat dry-docked on the beach near the massive construction. She watched as Freedom and Me slowly traveled toward earth. The scaffolding was on its “own” a piece of exceptional primitive art. It was a ramp made of aged driftwood planks that were retrieved from the bottom of the waters where the old wood mill stood many years ago. The ramp circled the castle and was supported by skinny cedar poles, found scattered in the tall bluff behind. The wooden planks and cedar poles were held together by line found along the water’s edge, lost by fishing tugs that worked not far off shore. Obviously…wind had not visited their camp since the beginning of the project. The castle was constructed 15 feet from where the water lapped against the shore.
Melody watched as Freedom and Me leaped from the bottom of the scaffold reaching the warm earth. Freedom sounded a mischievous expression as he trotted into the water and sprayed Me with moisture, cleansing from her the sand and dirt that covered her body. Me squealed… In response she retrieved one of her sand buckets. Filling it with water numerous times, she drenched Freedom from ears to tail end. After an ambitious frolic, they both fell to the ground in exhaustion as they approached Melody. Their breathing was labored. They lay sprawled on the sand like two flat tires grasping for fragments of air. It had been a long day in the hot sun.
Melody loved these moments in time…She was exactly where she wanted to be. She had missed Me, too.
Finally….
Why did you build one big castle rather than multiple smaller ones, my child?
Me continued to catch her breath. Picking herself up from the ground she gave Freedom one of her special kisses on his big warm nose. She felt his breath as she drew her face near his. Slowly she walked her sore and tired body to where Melody was perched and sat down leaning against the brightly colored Hobie 16.
We want to touch the stars Melody…..I want to see how they feel. I want to see how bright they become as I get closer. I want to listen to what they have to say. I want to go higher and higher to be with them.
My child, you know that you cannot touch the stars….it is unattainable. Why are you working so hard knowing that you will never touch what you seek?
Me paused for some time… Yes, I will never touch the stars that I seek…but I want to believe Melody. I want to believe that if I try…anything can be. If I listen during the journey of trying, I may not touch the stars but in my effort I want to believe that I will touch something new inside of me. I will feel something never felt before. I believe that you called this “search”. And, this “search” is how I am supposed to fill my “Naked Slate”. It is how I begin to secure my own identity, not the identity that Society has chosen me to own.
Melody leaped from the sailboat onto Me’s shoulder and touched her neck with her warm body. No longer are you wadding in the prison of mediocrity, she whispered. You taste the bounty of courage and perseverance. You have chosen to feel. You have procured a step forward in sculpting and defining your Naked Slate.
Me slouched with a soft sigh acknowledging Melody’s words. She actually understood what was being said to her today and the importance of her “own“ words. She was feeling proud of herself. It was a foreign feeling. It was a new feeling. It was her own feelings: no one else’s.
Freedom picked himself up from the earth and nuzzled against Me. The three settled together as they enjoyed their evening ritual being nourished by the diamonds scattered before them. Today…the sun was filtering its rays through a thin layer of stratus clouds creating an orange cast of light that showcased their mountain of sand before them. It was truly magnificent…
By morning the water’s had taken their castle away….
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My ghost in me... 