Four young people were already there when I arrived. They had, it seemed, spent the night on the beach. The beach was otherwise empty. Five people standing in a breeze thick with moisture and smelling of salt. Five people watching the sun rise as it has done a trillion times before. We are so tiny.
Alone on the beach I basked in the golden glow of dawn and listened to the waves crashing on the shore. Soon, I knew, the beach would fill with people. It was time to go.