The wind whipped my hair around, even as I held my bonnet closer to my head. Perhaps the sea thought that if it captured the hat, then I would stay.

But I couldn’t stay.

Tears gathered in the corner of my eyes - the effects of the wind, I told myself. The sparkling waves, catching the evening sunset on their far-off ripples, seemed to know they were saying goodbye.

Papa didn’t know he was dragging me away from a perfect life. He thought I would be happier in New York. But her waters were not as beautiful as mine.

It will be good for me, I tried to convince myself. The tears were flowing freely now.

It’s just an ocean, my brain told me. Then why did it feel like so much more? My whole childhood was filled with memories on these very beaches. The crystalline sea, the pristine sand, the salty breeze - they were everything to me.

I stifled a sob, and turned my back on my everything.