She Chose To Dance by Sheridan Dixon

She stood in the cold sand, her toes aching, her nose numb and her fingers scrunched tightly within her jumper, no signs of letting go. She waited until that first peak of sun creeped over the horizon, before she bravely took off her clothes. As she stood there, her naked body reflected the warmth of the newly lit sky, purples and reds skimming through the clouds, her soul was being pulled to the ocean.

The water had reached her navel, when she knew it was time. She took her last breath and emerged herself under the water. For that short moment, as she held her breath, her world had stopped. Her worries were no more, her heavy heart was light and she couldn’t hear the chaos that once controlled her mind.

She was free. Did she really need to come back up for air, she thought as she felt her body fill with pleasure. She wanted to feel this way forever, her mind, her body, her heart, dancing as one. As she broke through the clean, salty surface, she wiped her eyes. She had been searching all this time, to finally realise, she was her own happiness. She didn’t have to find it, it was there all along. “Cold?” An older man asked as he passed by, “No” she replied, “It’s beautiful”.