The Preasure of A Quiet Night

Few people would like to sit quietly at night in a lonely place and appreciate the beauty of the stillness and the darkness of the night. I am one of those few people. From a young age I have had the fascination for night and darkness. Something about the stillness and the darkness attracts me and I look forward to enjoy sitting still in the middle of the night, with only darkness and the night creatures for company. I cannot think of a reason for this strange attachment. Weird? You are forgiven if you think so.

Once I sat at a beach at night to appreciate the beauty. I was alone on the beach as it was close to midnight. I sat on the beach and faced the sea. It was calm and the waves were gentle. The moon was a crescent and lay over the ocean like a luminous boat. It shone over the sea and in the distance I could see a lone fisherman. He was standing on his boat and rowing slowly towards my direction. The night sky was filled with stars and the water below appeared black like the sky. In fact at some places, it seemed as if the sky touched the sea or rather, as if they were one.

Undisturbed I watched the sea as the waves made gentle laps against the beach. I got up and walked along the sea to observe. As I walked, I saw little crabs, scurrying away on their tiny little feet. I felt a little regretful at the intruding into their territory and somehow whispered an apology. I looked into the water and saw little flashes of light and knew them to be tiny luminous creatures reflecting the moonlight.

Looking at the land I saw the coconut palms as they stood majestically against the beach. As I watched I heard a sudden ‘thud’ which startled me. I smiled in the darkness as I saw a coconut bounce and roll into the sea. I saw it stop an inch from the water and then a gentle wave came and led it away. I looked at the coconut floating away and I wondered where it would land and grow into tree. ‘You must be proud of him,’ I whispered to the tree who had just contributed one more tree to Mother Nature.

Then I saw the fisherman, whom I had seen earlier, docked his boat and jumped on to the land. Almost immediately he began to haul out his net and his catch. I smiled and waved to him and made my way to the car.