It had been our spot for years—a little cove a mile's walk from a more popular and crowded beach on the reef, where tidal pools teemed with sea stars and urchins, and the craggy jetty separated us from the world, creating our own private paradise of friends, music and endless ocean. As kids we would dare each other to dive deeper or swim farther,bring up "treasure" from the reef; play tackle frisbee or beach volleyball, rugby, football; lay in the sand and wish for summer love to blossom. Now, years on, it had become a place of mythical nostalgia.
As I parked the car, slipped on my suit and headed out, the sun was just beginning to sink into the surf. Rounding the farthest point in the cove I could see a small group of figures hunched darkly over a pile of driftwood. Someone struck a match and suddenly the bone dry branches lit the dusk with the flames of a blossoming bonfire. I drew nearer,and could see the familiar faces of summers past,now all grown up, but more beautiful than ever in the glow of the fire.
Someone had brought a guitar, and, as was only natural, a rowdy chorus of"Waltzing Matilda" ensued. But soon the music grew more subdued, and I found myself on the outskirts of the circle,headed towards the water for a dip when someone caught me by the arm. "Dance with me," he said. It had been years since we had raced each other from one of the cove to the other, laid like seals on the rocks basking in the sun, but suddenly all the girlish romance in me welled to the surface and I saw him as if for the first time—as beautiful as ever.
We danced as the tide moved in and swallowed our feet in its salty wake,the hot summer air wrapping around us. We danced and danced until the fire had burned to embers, long after the guitar had been put away, andthe others were leaving for home, the moon and stars bright above the Great Barrier Reef…
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