Paradise

He awoke. His eyes fluttered open, being greeted by a midnight sky. The velvet sky was like a wondrous canvas, etched with paint and shifting colors, hues of beauty captured in a majestic grandiose scale. The stars were burning with a feverish light, desperate to be noticed. Each star was a freckle upon the sky, building together as if a foundation of atoms woven to make a body. The man was lost for words. Was he dreaming? But he just woke up, hasn’t he?

            The man felt a drift, a brush, and a gentle stroke upon his fingers. He closed his eyes, exhaling from his mouth. His fingers gripped something so impossibly soft and wondrous he had to open his eyes again. In his grasp was sand, white sand slowly drifting away like powdered sugar from his hold. The wind took hold of the cascading sand, blowing it into swirls that floated into the horizon.

            The scent of indescribable beauty reached him, making him gasp. It was floral, and yet from a flower that was not of this earth. The man thought the smell was from a distant mountain glacier, a steady stream flowing down the side into an endless field of flowers. How he thought this was beyond his own comprehension, but he believed it to be so.

            The man heard a far off noise, a sound that whistled echoes of a more distant memory. He began to be nostalgic for something he did not recognize; reminiscent of something he could not remember. The sound came closer and retracted, coming closer still. Waves.

The man realized he was upon a beach. He lay on the shore as the water slowly slipped past his shoulders, a surprisingly warm touch washing over his flesh. The water vibrated with a phosphorous teal glow, consuming the shore with a baby blue light. He craned his head, entranced by the water. The water was clear as air, and warm as the sun’s radiance. It was as if all the stars fell into the sea, residing a new shelter within its warm depths. The sea was full of its own stars and light, glistening and magical.

            He lifted his hand out of this mystic water, bringing it to his eyes for closer inspection. A few unexpected drops landed upon his lips, inviting an extravagant taste. The flavor of this sea was enticingly sweet and light, making his lips curves into a smile he long forgotten.