I stared into the big blue through the charged fence going around as far as the beach goes. The waves crashed into each other over and over, and the smell of its salty

fumes cut through into my nostrils, filling me with a sense of relaxation. I’ve heard that any closer than where I am, its smell could cause holes to grow in my lungs rapidly.

I was born on an island, unfortunately, so I see people die early because the fumes of the ocean end up causing damage through time; slowly but surely. My own mother

died due to the fumes when I was only six years old.

Still.

I couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

It was a beautiful thing. How was it possible that it knew how far to come into the sand? I wonder what being wet in ocean water would feel like. Would it sting? Would I die

immediately? Would I die at all? The crashing waves made a rhythmic sound that relaxed every cell in my body and tempted me. I wanted to feel it. I wanted to experience

such a beautifully dangerous thing.

I returned every day. Again, again, and again.

Until I couldn’t take it anymore. I walked the entire perimeter of the fence, looking for a section that wasn’t charged, or maybe broken, or opened. At the very edge, where

the fence met the wall of a cliff, a bottom section of the fence was bent upward, and a hole large enough for me to crawl through revealed itself to me. I stood in front of

it, hesitating to make my next step. I focused on the ocean, on the blue waves, the white foam, the glimmer of the reflection of the sun on its surface, on the smell, on

everything.

I crawled through the fence

and ran.

Adrenaline and an inexplicable rush of dopamine coursed through my veins. I took off my sandals and let the soft sand make its way comfortably between my toes. My

heart skipped a beat as the water made contact with the skin on my feet.

It was cold.

I stopped running and stared at the water, too scared to make any more contact. But I already broke the rules. I was already standing in it. I plunged my hands into the

water and laughed. So cold. But it didn’t hurt. It felt good. I went in deeper and deeper until the water was just below my neck. The water stung where i had scratched

myself while climbing a tree, I got scared at the slight pain but I stopped caring after a few seconds. I laughed and spun and dared to let my head go under. So salty! Was

it actually poisonous? I didn’t care. Water surrounded me. I was standing in the big blue sea, and I was still alive! My lungs didn’t hurt either.

Was I immune to its fumes?

Or was it all a lie?

But why would they lie?

The government wouldn't lie?

Would they?