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The breeze was hot and heavy, almost too much to endure. The sun's burning rays reached down to those lying on the beach, embracing them with the heat of the moment. The seagulls flew slowly over the inlet as if the weather was even too hot for them. The children ran up and down at water's edge, splashing in the coolness that it offered, oblivious to the heat that consumed them and their surroundings.

"Look Bubby!" The boy of about 6 years old, with his hair cut as if he was a Marine and his skin lightly browned by the sun, didn't hear the little girl who called for him. The little boy was contently building a sand castle, safely out of the reach of the water's fingers. He didn't appear to be aware of anything around him, other than his buckets, shovels and the sand below him.

"Bubby!" she screamed. This time he heard her. The little girl had what probably began as golden brown hair, but it had been lightened with sun and the salt water. Her hair glowed and her eyes where the same shade as her skin, just touched by the color brown. She was next to the boulders at the inlet's opening, playing in a pool of warmed water that the rocks had trapped.

This time the little boy stopped what he was doing and ran to the girl who called him Bubby. She appeared to be younger than him. He ran to her as if he was on that beach to protect her. When he approached her, she screamed as if to inform everyone at the beach over the noise of the waves that there was danger! No one heard her cries of what he appeared to understand as terror, other than the boy she called "Bubby".

When Bubby was safely by her side, she threw herself on the ground and began what sounded like giggling! The little boy dropped to his knees and began crawling around her, desperately grasping at the calm warm water that sourrounded them. The little girl stopped giggling and began crawling on her knees, just like Bubby! All of a sudden, the little boy jumped up, exclaiming "I got it, I got it!"

The little boy had single handedly caught a small orange crab with yellow spots. As he held the crab in one hand, he gently took the little girl with his other hand, and told her "Come on Sissy, we'll make a Sand Castle for the King Crab!" Together they hopped and skipped, holding each other's hands. Their destination was the Sand Castle that the boy had stopped building earlier to answer the little girl's call.

Oblivious to all around them, the children built a new home for their new friend. The seagulls sang above them, and the music of the waves beat steadily as the sun warmed and colored their skin. The Castle had large bucket-buildings and rivers that ran through it, with walls that surrounded the entire establishment, to protect its new master.

Even when the heat of the summer seams too much to survive, there are always those that thrive in the freedom from time that the carefree days of summer and the innocence of youth provide.

Learn more about this author, Shauna Kirk.
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