SHELLS IN HARTMAN

It was low tide and the water reached just a little above my ankles. I stood in the water viewing the far-off lights shining brightly from the houses along the coastline of Hartman beach. The air softly touched my face as the overwhelming feeling of serenity embraced me like a blanket; familiarly cool and very peaceful. I would have been lulled to sleep breathing in all that peace.

 

My friend, Desa, who was collecting sea shells not so faraway, asked if I was okay. She might have noticed how silent I was just standing there with my back against them as I watched the coastline and the placidity of the waters. I smiled to myself; I’ve never felt more okay. The past few days had been draining for me; I forgot how it is to find peace. This is how it is to be with myself again. It’s as if I found my center. It’s as if everything was alright with the world again. My friends collected a lot of seashells while I just took pictures of them, wanting to preserve that memory. I was amazed with how they were able to see the shells in the dark; my eyes just won’t cooperate.

 

It suddenly reminded me of that time when I was still in college and I was with my mother and we were collecting seashells at Kalayaan beach. It was also low tide and the waters reached just a little above my ankles. Only that time it was late in the afternoon, and the sun was just setting. For a little while, the sky turned into a blazing color of orange and the beautiful color reflected back into the waters like a mirror. It was like some of those mirage images in the desert only that it was real. Several people dotted the shore “nanginginas” as I stood there watching them. It was the same feeling of peace but with your breath taken away with the beauty and you just absorb it all in. I remember the trickling sound of the water as my feet wade through the sea in its lowest tide. I cannot remember what I was thinking about that time. Probably nothing; nothing but peace and silence. It’s like you can float in that kind of trance forever. The silence was only interrupted by the roar of an airplane overhead preparing to touchdown at the nearby airport, which is the Puerto Princesa Domestic Airport, now the Puerto Princesa International airport.