Beach days

The temperature has soared to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). The general masses gather on the beaches around the city, hoping to catch a breeze off the ocean. Joggers take to the trails in their shades, tanks, and shorts, impervious to the heat. Parents chase after their toddlers, who instinctively make a mad dash toward the waves. The sand surface is abuzz with chatter, the rise and lull of human voices -- excited voices, in-love voices, the end-of-another-workday voices....

An amateur musician performs a rap for all passersby. Some stop to listen; others move on squintingly toward the evening sun far in the horizon. Couples swing-dance to an imaginary tune, barefoot on the grass, spinning each other self-absorbedly. The world of sand and water -- of youth playing volleyball, and of the lone man gently propelling himself on a surfboard on the soft-lapping waves -- spins by, till the sun sets and night falls and the crowd disperses. And all that remains are the lights of the high-rises reflecting off the water, and the north shore mountains looming like silent giants guarding our slumber.