"Hurray! Shall we take a walk?" Sylvia said. "We're so close to the beach now!"
"I think that's a fine idea," I agreed.
-Starclimber, pg. 61, Kenneth Oppel
The beach was still warm from the sun's brilliant glow. The water sparkled more than I remembered; it was even better than flying over the Atlanticus and the Pacificus. The air smelled of salt, but really it seemed like happiness. The warm sand, the winking sea, the air, and my family were all happiness to me. Even after knowing Kate and all the joy and thrill of being with her, Sylvia, Isabel, and my mother have a certainty and sureness that I don't have yet with her. I know my family will always be there. I know they'll even be there in death. My father is still with me, and so will they.
Isabel is young enough still to want to hold my hand. She is practically bouncing alongside me, and the feeling is infectious. I cannot stop smiling whenever my mother looks over at me, making sure I'm still there. I don't think she believes my father is with us, like I do. She has come to peace with his death, as she must, with two daughters to care for. Even more than that is the fear of losing me too, and it keeps her from being always happy, as she deserves. She is a worrier, and I don't think much can change that.
Sylvia is older every time I see her. Izzie as well, but Sylvia always has matured more. She remembers our father more than Isabel does. That means she remembers the pain of loosing him more clearly, like I do, and I think that's why she feels she has to grow up so fast. Nobody has ever really told her that it would be okay to take her time in getting older. I probably should talk to her before I leave again. Mom will never get around to it, but it's not her fault: she's always too busy. I know I had to step up and take a job to help support my family, but my sister doesn't have to.
Not today, though. Today is for happy reunions and memory-making. So before I really think about it, and before she has time to react, I scoop Izzie up over my shoulder and run for the ocean. She squeals loudly in my ear, and so does Sylvia behind us. Just as I reach the water Mom calls out behind me to be careful. I turn around but she's laughing too much to be serious. Izzie is squirming so much I fear I will drop her, so I run a few last steps, till the water comes to my waist, and I let myself fall backwards.
Water rushes all around us, and boy I'm glad I changed out of my academy uniform.
Isabel quickly stands up, but she's standing on my stomach, and I whoosh back down underwater. Before I can get up again, she's already run back to the safety of the dry sand.
Then I'm truly shocked, when I see Sylvia running past Izzie to me, with a smile as radiant as the sunshine spread on her lips. As she comes I splash her, and soon she's as soaked as I am. When Isabel sees that her older sister was more of a daredevil than she was, she immediately spins about and runs back towards us. All three of us start splashing each other and I'm not even thinking that I can't swim because nothing could possibly go wrong in such an instance as this. Nothing.
And I'm the happiest I've ever felt.