The day starts as any other, but yet so different from the others before. Something has changed. The sun’s rays climb and chase away the night sky. Nature begins to awaken from the gentleness if slumber. Birds chirp, trees rustle in the morning breeze, and waves crash along the surf. Even though the rest of the world may not know it, this morning is different from every morning from the months before. The many painful hours of confinement have ended. For the next two months, I am free and this means that everything has changed. I can do as I please for as long as I want.

The melodic sounds beckon me to join them from my perch on the porch railing. I have been up for hours waiting. I am patient, yet excited, resisting the temptation. I know what lies in front of me and the anticipation grows as I linger longer. My mind travels back to every moment in the last year when I dreamed of when this day would come. In each of those memories I would have done anything, given up whatever to be where I am right now. Most of these memories came from days spent looking out windows the snow falling, accumulating on the frozen ground. A smile finds its way to my lips and I inhale deeply with my eyes closed. Even though its only morning, I can already feel the warmth of the day seeping into me. The sweet smell of sunscreen that my mother slapped on me before I could escape her mixes with the tantalizing smell of the dew covered grass. Even though its only morning, I can already feel the warmth of the day seeping into my flesh. This day is the first of many similar to come.

The longer I sit, the bigger urge builds and builds until I can’t resist it anymore. From the railing, I jump and land with a soft thud onto the slick grass. Sprinting, I take off down the deserted gravel road that leads me to memories of the past. I pass by the spot where I fell from my bike at five years old and thought the world was ending. I grin and remember how my mother tried to comfort me with tears rushing down my face and blood spilling from my knee. It seems like just yesterday that these dramatic scenes unfolded.

The sharp rocks on the ground dig harshly into the soles of my feet, but I can’t feel them. All that I can feel, smell, taste, touch, see, and hear is the magnetic pull that drags me ever closer to the end of the solitary road. I am an Olympic sprinter, pushing with the strength in my body to reach a goal that I have lost blood, sweat, and tears to accomplish. With my eyes set upon my destination, I can’t stop now. And then, as easily as if the wind picked me off my feet, I jump and land into the gentle softness of the sand. The salty smell rushes into my nose, the rhythmic crashes attack my ears, and the cool water gently inundates my toes. My excitement is uncontrollable. I have won. This is the blissfulness that I have waited all year for and the glee escapes me through a wide, toothy smile. The happiness rushes through my body in sync with the sea. I grab my surfboard from the faded wooden racks and escape into the water. I let the waves transport me to a separate realm where happiness takes the place of all pains and sorrows. I am finally content with the world again.