Banana Boat Sunscreen Drifts

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The grains of sand latch themselves to my skin, unwilling to release me from their influence, their nagging persuading me to reflect on the events of the day. The scent of Banana Boat Sunscreen drifts through my mind, accompanying a desire for the lime Otter Pops I had gorged upon while sitting on the beach. Memory of the gleeful screams and laughs shared running amongst the rays of sun lulls me into the contentment of the hours past.

However, this ode to the bygone sounds of the beach proves only a distraction as it is overtaken with the dissonance of the present, the excited exclamations being replaced by the continuation of angry accusations, accusations hurled in the other room from one parent to the other.

The uncomfortable surface …show more content…

However, it was appropriate this event proved a kind of sand in itself, refusing to let go of us no matter the distance from which it originated, constantly forcing the acknowledgement of its unfortunate placement in our lives. This fighting was almost normal, routine even, in our household. The only difference in this circumstance was the location now, my place alone in this hotel living room instead of alone in my bedroom at …show more content…

The wetness of my hair, soaked from an attempt to rid it of the salt and grime of the ocean, echoed the feeling of water against the face’s soft skin experienced at the certain first drops of tears from her eyes.

And with her loss of composure, my mother broke from the script, set about a new plot and broke the fourth wall, acknowledging me, the unseen audience to their heated discussion, as she walked out of the room. The recognition of my lack of naivety was apparent as her tear-filled eyes locked with mine, eyes that she surely expected to be closed with the fortunate ignorance of childhood, and in that moment, I ceased to be inactive.

For before this, I had sat in the theater, no way to join the characters I followed, no way to show I had known their struggles, no way to play my own role in the scene. Now, I was thrust into the midst of the chaotic sea, dropped a few feet away from a sort of raft which I could cling to- my mother’s. For as I realized then, she had been battling as much as I had, struggling to keep her head above water in the terrible storm that had been raging through her

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