Summer

It was not quite early, and hardly late enough to sleep
A moving mess of people, laughing, dancing, and drinking
swarmed the beach
The flutter of a hand, of streamers and the long mane of a horse
caught my eye
Somewhere, people were performing circus tricks
I wasn’t sure where.
The smell of candy floss and hot dogs burnt pleasantly in my nose
the perfume of it bleeding into the crowd
My mouth felt vacant, craving
I could almost taste the sea, and the colours that burst so brilliantly, so exquisitely across the palate of open faces
The oranges and reds of bulbous scattered lanterns, and the bright blues and greens from the fairground rides
reflected against the liquorice black water
I was safe here, safe in the knowledge that summer would always come, that there would always be next summer, and the summer after that…