The sun is setting and its warm rays are caressing my skin. Slurpee in-hand, I relax and drink in the view. Burrard Inlet, full of its freighters and fishing boats, stretches out before me in the evening light. The lamps that line the seawall turn on and the remnants of the sun’s soft glow are interrupted with harsh halogen emissions. A young couple, maybe early twenties, walks by; she can hardly take her eyes off of him. I wonder if that is what true love is like. Could it really be possible that one day I would feel the same way about a man? I am lost in thought until a gull cry ends my daydream. He lands on the rock wall and stares at me; probably wondering if I’m a tourist that would feed him. Sadly, for him at least, I am a local, and I know how annoying seagulls truly are.
This whole area of West Vancouver is nostalgic for me. My grandmother lived two blocks from the seawall while I was growing up, and we would often make our way down to the winding concrete to spend time together. She showed me the various shell fragments that washed up on the rocks, held my hand as I walked along the wall beside the doggy-trail, and showed me how to make the tallest rock towers possible. She also taught me to try and learn something new from every person you meet. Regardless of who they are, each individual has something to offer, and it’s your job to draw it out of them. As I sit on my bench, thinking about my grandmother, I feel some how vacant, as if a part of me died along with her two months ago. It’s comforting to know that I will one day see her again in heaven. At the moment, I want nothing more than what is laid out before me. Here, I feel like I possess the world. A sunset is the greatest gift that nature can give, and I, in this instant, am the recipient. What more can a person need? With great friends, a loving family, and a home in the most beautiful city on earth, I cannot “want” anything. However, if I didn’t know how cold the water was I might want to go swimming.
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