My hair feels crispy as I coil wet strands around the ends of my fingers and squish my toes into the warmth of the sand.
Pushing through the surface, they reach the layer below, embracing the cold, watching as water pools around my feet.
A distant figure calls for a dog, momentarily ownerless, racing from the moment paws touch the sand until submerged in the sea. The man calls, and the dog reluctantly returns, bound by a connection beyond the visible.
My own companion, distant by almost 10 thousand miles, I wonder if he, unbound, would return or keep running. We lack possession and share no common dwelling. He, like me, knows the ebb and flow of changing circumstances, yearns for a sense of belonging, a place to call home.
Neither side of the world claims familiarity as home. Conflict seeps through my pores, intertwining with my breath.
But for this brief moment, closed eyes and a deep inhale -
1. Crispy hair
2. Cold wet toes
3. Dog bark
4. Crashing waves
5. Salty tears