On the Horizon

Chapter Eleven: Life's A Beach

They were once more at the beach. It was a great place to be. Not as crowded as the city or port, it offered an open place for the young people to spread out and play. It also offered Alasdair the opportunity to keep his eye on all of them without too much trouble. Something for which he could only be thankful.

The sky was overcast but rain wouldn't fall anytime soon. The breeze was brisk, tugging at hair and clothes. The sea was gray and choppy.

"The water reminds me of your fur," Coralie said.

Alasdair grinned at the comparison.

Halvor laughed. "She has the artist's eye for sure."

"Time to put that eye to work," Alasdair said with a clap of his hands.

They weren't there just to enjoy the sea and sand. After their first beach day had ended in disaster, Halvor had insisted their young guests learn to appreciate art and the artists that made it. The sand sculptor, Gale, had been rightfully upset by having his work so thoughtlessly destroyed. As a way of making up for it, Halvor suggested that Gale teach the young hooligans-as Gale called them-a thing or two. It had taken some convincing on Halvor's part, but he had brought Gale around to the idea.

So here they were.

Coralie and Jing were most fluffed by this project. The others were all there, but their enthusiasm was much milder. Gale was waiting for them midway between the dunes and the shoreline. He had buckets and shovels at his feet and his quick brown eyes took in the eight people heading his way. Alasdair could not quite make out his expression and hoped the sculptor was not regretting his decision.

The group came to a ragged halt facing Gale.

"It is my understanding that none of you, other than Ani Halvor, has any experience working with sand. As such, we will stick to basic structures and forms. Everyone grab a shovel and bucket," Gale instructed, waving a hand at the tools surrounding him. He waited until everyone was appropriately armed. "The project we will be working on today is actually a surprise."

Coralie and Asaka exchanged a fluffed glance.

"I love surprises!" Coralie exclaimed.

"Me too!" Asaka agreed.

Gale clapped his hands. "While this project is a simple one, we are going to need sand and lots of it. So, start digging!" The sculptor demonstrated how to use the shovels and the areas he had designated for the piles. Then he began to walk around, using a piece of driftwood to create a rough outline of the sculpture.

Alasdair was not surprised to see Halvor join in the work. As he had explained to Alasdair, he was old, not dead. So, he was going to live until then. Creating art-no matter the form it took-was something he had always enjoyed. He didn't let anything stop him, including old age. He was slow but steady, the peaceful center to the hurricane of activity going on around him.

Gale had not been exaggerating about the size of the sculpture. He took over a dozen strides up and down the beach, using a piece of driftwood to trace the outline.

"I thought Gale said this was going to be simple!" Colo exclaimed, slipping in the loose sand, and almost falling before Alasdair caught him.

Unfortunately, the boy's struggle had caused a minor slide, showering the others with sand.

Dahlia glared up at Colo. "Thanks for that."

Asaka and Coralie began to dust themselves off, making faces as they tried to clear their mouths of grit.

Coralie cast a longing look at Ezuni and Jing. "I should have worn something to cover my hair."

"The one thing I don't like about sand is that it gets all over!" Asaka complained.