Image is a digital art created by me prompting Bing powered by DALL.E 3
Emily maneuvered the car out of the driveway, waving lovingly at her husband, Jeremy ,while her kids beamed with smiles as they also joyously waved at their daddy.
The kids were so excited because they were finally going to visit a place that had before now been an unfulfilled promise repeatedly made by their mother. For a long time, they had been asking their parents for a day out at the beach, but there was always something that would come up at the last minute to prevent them from making the trip.
While they sat at the back happily chatting away and laughing, Emily was trying to listen to their conversation as well as pay attention to the road. Their happy chatter made her realise that she had sort of denied the children from experiencing the joys of having a beach adventure for too long a time.
One more turn, Emily left the very busy highway for the Beach Avenue, the road that led straight to their destination. They could sight the tall coconut palm trees from far away. The closer she drove, the more it felt they were moving into a world different from where they were coming from.
It was soon their turn to pay a token at the entrance to be able to get a secure parking space, and then when she finally parked, she felt her palms sweating.
"If only Jeremy was here right now", said one of the voices in her head. "No, you took the right decision. You can do this", said another voice.
The children watched as their mother took a few deep breaths before finally releasing the child lock so they could all get down from the car. Even with all the excitement they were feeling inside, they knew better than make any move without Emily's approval.
Picking up a big mat, a picnic basket and a cooling bag that contained bottles of water and cans of drinks, the beautiful mother and her kids made their way from the car park to find the perfect spot to spread their mat and treat themselves to the delicious contents of their basket and cooling bag.
As the family sat eating their meal, they watched other beach visitors having fun around them. Some of the visitors were dressed in swimming suits, others were putting on all kinds of shorts and skirts, while some others were dressed in other varieties of colourful attires.
Not far from where they were seated, a group of young people were blasting some Calypso music and swaying their bodies to the beats. They seemed to have no care at all in this world.
"Look who is here!", said a familiar voice. Emily turned and saw her younger brother, James, making his way towards her. He was happy and surprised at the same time, for he knew that for many years Emily could not bring herself to visit the beach because of a visit that almost went wrong the last time she did.
James picked a can of soft drink, and offered to take the children for a walk along the beach while Emily had some time to herself. Emily was grateful for how understanding her brother usually was. He had always been caring and protective of her even though he was younger than her.
Knowing that her children were safe with James, Emily allowed the tears to fall as memories of her last beach visit came flooding back.
She had just finished her final exam in the university and decided to visit the beach with her best friend, Olivia. It was a happy day, what with them taking pictures, talking and laughing. It was going to be the last time they would be together in a long time because Olivia would be travelling out of the country the following week.
Suddenly, their laughter was almost turned to sorrow as they were trying to run from the approaching wave when Olivia fell. The kind of fear and shock that gripped Emily's heart that day was so much that although Olivia wasn't swept away by the water, it was only a miracle that saved the day.
Funny enough, Olivia was able to overcome the effect of that incident, but Emily couldn't get over it. That was the main reason she always found it difficult to bring her children to the beach.
"Sis, are you okay?" Emily was startled out of her reverie by James' voice. She got up and hugged him with tears in her eyes, before gathering her children to herself and hugging them.
"Why are you crying, Mummy?" That was Claire, the baby of the house. Emily answered, "Mummy has got some sand in her eyes. But don't worry. Let's head back home and tell Daddy about all the fun we had today, okay?"
Packing up their belongings, Emily and her brother, James, plus her three children made their way towards the car park, everyone preoccupied with their own thoughts.
Emily knew that this was just the beginning of the many beach adventures she was going to have with her children. She was glad she summoned courage to do this, and couldn't wait to get back home to tell her beloved Jeremy that she was finally free from fear.
The End
This is my entry for Week 1 of @dreemport and @scholarandscribe communities #augustchallenge. I hope you enjoyed the story. Please, share your thoughts in the comments section, and I will get back to you.
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