He joyfully gallops over the sand dune
eager to confront the thunderous sapphire waves.
Without breaking stride he tosses aside his shovel and pail
and runs to the edge of the surf.
He tries to get as close to the water as possible without touching it,
a continuous cycle of advancing and retreating.

His mom drags him away from his endless game of tag with the water
in order to apply white pasty cream all over his slick body.
“Wait five minutes before you go back in the water” the mom tells him.
The boy grabs his red shovel and dives into the sand
building a castle that will withstand the battle the tide presents.

He peers up from his work and sees what looks like a black float
bobbing up and down a little ways off shore.
This mysterious object draws his attention and the boy leaves his sand fortress
to investigate the sleek object.
After another look he can make out two eyes, a mouth, and whiskers.

The intrigued boy waddles and jumps into the water
and starts to doggy paddle toward the creature.
As he closes in on it he recognizes it as the loser he always saw
on his television at home during Shark Week.
He doesn’t understand why this beautiful, shiny being is so close to shore.

His curiosities are answered
by the screams of horror from his mom.
The boy’s head bounces for a couple seconds in the tide
before it is plunged under the water’s murky surface.