Fiction: The day Ana met the sea

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The day Ana met the sea

The last memory I have of my father is his back as he walked away down a sandy path. I remember it was when mom and I first met the sea.
It was July and I was out of school. My mom had woken me up early.

Get up and get dressed quickly because today you are going to meet someone very important," she told me softly, because my mother had a sweet voice and when she spoke, you could hardly hear her. Then I stood up, took a quick bath and when I came out of the bathroom, my mother had put my best dress on the bed, the one she used when she had a party. I figured that person had to be very special.

The trip took about an hour, I think, but I fell asleep on the way. My mom woke me up when we arrived. She was carrying a duffel bag and dark glasses. We walked along a little sandy path and through thick vegetation. When we passed all the vegetation, we had it in front of us: the immense sea with waves coming and going.

Neither my mother nor I knew the sea. I was happy and jumped awkwardly on the sand as we walked to a shady coconut tree. When we got there, there was a man sitting on a rock. When he saw us coming, he immediately stood up and greeted my mom with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. As they parted, my mom took me by the hand and said:

Ask for his blessing, Ana. This is your father. -I was so surprised that I couldn't move. Then the man came closer, hugged me and gave me a kiss on my forehead.

─Bendición," I said and he replied with a "Dios te bendiga" (God bless you) close to my ear. Then, he pulled away and looked me up and down, and added:

─But how big you are! You don't look like you were 7 years old," he looked me in the eyes and smiled at me. After that he said something to my mom and we sat down on an awning that was close to the shore.

I started jumping on the sand and looking for seashells, without taking care of my party dress. I paced back and forth, until my mom told me to sit near them. The waves splashed against my dress, leaving white trails of foam on my feet and between my toes. Oblivious to the adults, I played with each thing the waves left behind: a plastic bottle, a broken shell, a piece of rotten wood.
─Ana, do you want ice cream? -my mom asked me and I nodded with my hands dirty with sand. Then they called a boy who sold ice cream and bought three ice creams. I remember mine was mantecado, because at that time that was my favorite flavor. I also remember that it was very hot and the sun was a bright yellow ball in our faces, and the sea was an ironed blue sheet.

In the afternoon, when the sun was beginning to set and the sea was tinged with gray, the man approached me again, hugged me, gave me a kiss and said in my ear:

Take good care of yourself and listen to your mother," he said and left. I watched him until he was lost in the horizon. I was about to ask my mother why that man was leaving, but, despite the dark glasses, I saw that my mother was crying. Then I fixed my gaze again on that man's back as he walked away, because I knew that just as it had been the first time I had seen him, it would also be the last time I would see his face.

I remember that day in July, not only because I met my father, but also because I met the sea and just that day my new dress was damaged.

Thank you for reading and commenting. Until a new opportunity, friends.