Banished to a summer purgatory, to get fat, lazy and tan. Amongst vacationing families and prosperous retirees, he found himself exiled, a recluse at the dune’s edge.
Amidst the rhythmic surge of the surf’s white noise, he dozed, wondering how many tides he’d witnessed. How many sunsets. Lost in the embrace of timelessness that the shore offered, the enchantment waned, its hold unraveling.
As the Perseid meteor shower’s final embers faded, and the inland heat wave met its conclusion, he mused over his journeys duration along the beach. The allure that had detained him now dissipating.
The northernmost frontier had been reached this season. Leaving behind a tapestry of memories and souls forever etched in his heart.
The people he had met, the ones who offered a helping hand, weathering the storm of rising prices, both for sustenance and shelter. Caught in a cruel and outdated system, struggling through underpaid jobs, unable to rise above the maze that dominated their attention.
The compass needle pointed resolutely southward, but his thoughts remained along the coast. Haunted by the faces of those he yearned to aid, vowing to somehow make a difference, to break the cycle.
#beachcamping #beachbum #wandering