Boardwalk Descriptive Writing

Bodies pass, moving in a blur of a slow fast-forward. The haze of voices echoes through the crowd, only to be split and overcome by the burdened creak of the boardwalk’s wooden planks.
The child wobbles forward, camera in hand – a Christmas gift from Father. The camera is raised, positioned, and fired as taught, and the winter sea is frozen in time by the quiet click of the lens. As the child waddles further out along the boardwalk, the whispering mass beneath the planks moves, too.
Three more snaps of the shutter draw a delighted giggle from the child, who crosses the walkway back and forth to catch sight of seagulls above and hermit crabs far below, scuttling across the sand. They flee the thing beneath the boardwalk.
A slender, murmuring

tentacle spooks a gull from its perch, but disappears at a stray sunbeam poking through the thick winter clouds above, snaking back into the shadows. The child’s pleased cries erupt from the other side of the boardwalk, all but ignored by what few adults remained along the pier. Soon enough, the child tires and takes a seat upon one of the numerous benches, looking out onto the ocean and once again raising the camera for a final snapshot. The sun dips below the waves, and the boardwalk grows empty as the electric lamps flicker on. Satisfied at last by the collected assortment of photographs, the child rises and twirls, coat flapping in the cold ocean air.
In the absence of sunlight, the mass of shadows rises from the cracks of the boardwalk planks, sliding and creeping its way towards the small creature. Quiet murmurs and whispers emanate from the billowing cloud, catching the attention of the child. The coat flaps wildly again as the child lets out a shrill shriek of glee, throwing itself at the mass with arms flung wide. The cloud envelops the child, murmuring in greeting.
The child thanks Father for the gift before they both blink away into nothingness.