the sea is boiling water and the sand is sugar

Yesterday we lost my granddad, my mum's father, to cancer. This blog post isn't going to be about him, or about loss or mourning. I just wanted to let my beautiful readers know, as I have mentioned the situation previously and I didn't want to leave it as a mystery. I need to stop thinking about the cashew nuts he used to love so much, and how much he adored condensed milk, how he used to say 'you smell lovely', which sounds a lot prettier in his language. How he used to call me his 'number one' as I was the first grandchild born, or how he smelt, or how he used to sit in a corner and engross himself in crosswords. I need to stop, but I can't. Okay, maybe I lied, I've given you a slice of my grief and mourning and I apologise. I won't do it again.

Today I needed a prompt for my blog because once an emotion has consumed you completely, sometimes it becomes your only inspiration and I don't want to sit here complaining about how upset I am. I'd rather not upset you all too. My prompt for today is a picture, which I shall write a small story about. I hope you enjoy it, dear reader. I am coming up to 3000 hits on this blog and I cannot believe those of you who have stuck with me through it all so far. Although you may believe I haven't shared a lot in the twenty or so posts I have written, I have shared more with you than any other person alive today, and I hope you understand how much thought I put into each post. So here goes, another picture prompt. 

If you are new to my blog and enjoy the picture prompt for today, there was a picture prompt used in an older blog post here.

~~~x~~~

The higher up I am, the happier I am. Down on the ground I am surrounded by giants; people are taller than me and more important, buildings tower over me and the sea seems to be a vast emptiness I am afraid of. Everything seems to press me down further into dirt and grit, pushing and pushing until I am completely submerged in the earth and not even the top of my head can be seen. I suffocate, down on the ground. I am nobody, just another speck of dust floating in the sunlight, blown away with the slightest, silent sigh.

When i'm sat up high on the rocky hills which not many are brave enough to trek up, the world is suddenly mine. I can grasp at building and boats, or delete them from existence by covering them with my hand. People are like ants, the sea can be poured mug of tea; the sky is the only thing which goes on forever however it is so clear and calming that I almost want to jump up and join the few lonely birds, flying so high the ground no longer exists.

You should see it at night. The buildings become stars, glittering and flickering as young children turn on their bedside lights and begin to read fairy tales. The stars in the sky become jealous, and they battle it out for hours until the buildings give up and go dark again. But, whilst they are ablaze, the sea sparkles and you can just about make out the waves, still drifting towards the shore, tickling it gently, then drifting back to repeat the process.

The best bit is they can't see me. Nobody can. Not my family, nor my friends, nor the buildings or the sea or anything but the birds which promise to fly with me someday. The ground may consume me on occasion, but I will always make it out and I will one day touch that crystal clear sky above my head. For now, I shall pour myself a cup of tea, using the sea as my water, and pick up the people by their collars and use them as spoons to stir my drink. The sand can be the sugar which dissolves so quickly it was almost as if it was never there. And after a few thousand mugs of tea, the ground below will be empty. I will have consumed it all and all that will be left for me is the sky.

~~~x~~~

That was quite possibly the weirdest thing I have ever written, but I hope in some odd way you have enjoyed it and can perhaps see the message behind my story. Though a simple one, it fits in with my life right now. No matter how hard life gets, or how much you feel swallowed up my the ground below, there will always be the sky to look up to and aim for and there will always be a way out.

Ayesha x