One night while visiting the beach, I snuck out of my hotel room and walked down to the water. I could hear the waves crashing against the sand, and the scent of weed filled the air (most likely from the rowdy group of teenagers I had passed). For a moment I stared up at the star-filled, moonless midnight sky. A shadow caught the corner of my eye. The dark shadow belonged to a young female who stared out at the horizon as if she were looking for something. But what?

I walked closer towards her to get a better look at this strange girl. Her blonde hair was up in a bun on the top of her head, the sea breeze gently blowing the strands around. She looked to be about my age, sixteen, and her eyes were lost and distant. "What are you looking at?" I asked her as the chilly waves lapped at our feet. The girl jumped at the sound of my voice and turned to look at me, her lost eyes reluctantly tearing from the sea. I became worried that she would walk away without replying after the long silence between us. After all, a boy, a complete stranger, had suddenly approached her. But, she smiled a kind but sad smile and said in the most beautiful and gentle voice I had ever heard, "Paradise."

"Paradise? What are you talking about?" I had no clue what the girl with lost eyes meant. I saw no "Paradise." Just a never-ending horizon of darkness. I heard the girl giggle and glanced down at her. With one hand she pointed towards the ocean and touched between my eyes softly with the other. Her touch sent chills down my spine.

"Close your eyes and look to the horizon. There you will see what I see. The place I call Paradise." I obeyed her order and shut my eyes, concealing myself in lonely, empty darkness. Then I saw it. Night had turned to day, and not a single cloud polluted the clear blue sky. The sand was warm between my toes. I could sense a powerful aura. An aura of happiness and belonging. "Welcome to Paradise," the female spoke. I heard her giggle once again then she disappeared. The girl with lost eyes was gone.

I opened my eyes and found myself back at the dark beach where the scent of weed filled my lungs. I felt a sudden feeling of panic when I no longer saw the girl with lost eyes at my side, and I have never seen her since then. Her soft voice still echos in my thoughts. "Close your eyes, and look to the horizon. There you will see what I see. The place I call Paradise."

I often visit that magical place the girl had named Paradise hoping to meet her there. But she's never there. I now spend most of my days happy in Paradise. Happy. What a wonderful word. I learned the true meaning of the word thanks to the girl on the beach. The girl with lost eyes.