It was late afternoon on a sunny summer day, the sun just starting to drift down towards the horizon. The air was salty and refreshing as the beach came into view, curving up and down with the dunes and studded with grass and shrubs. The sound of scampering little feet could be faintly heard as a little boy ran down from the top of a dune, nearly tripping and falling as he ran towards the sea. Coming behind him was a much slower figure, calmly walking through a valley made in the sandy hills, watching to make sure the boy didn't take a tumble.

The man and the boy had come to this spot every year on this day, it was their special place that only they knew about. The quiet beach was soon filled with sounds of splashing and laughter, whoops of joy and disappointment came with each wave as the boy tried to bodysurf in the ocean. The older man sat down in the sand, absentmindedly moving the sand with his hands as his stormy colored eyes dazedly watched his son frolicking in the surf. There was a melancholy feel to the man as his gaze followed the boy.

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He smiled, chuckled and said to himself, “Honey I hope you can see how well we’re doing from up there.”

The man then jumped to his feet and ran over to the boy with a grin on his face, shaking off memories from before. He then swooped the kid up into his arms and threw him into the sea, the son yelling at him as he ran away. They splashed and played as sunset came, filling the time with laughter and happiness. As the sun finally slipped below the sea line, the man called the boy to come back and as they trekked their way back from the beach, soaked and as sandy as can be, full of memories and talks of coming back next year, for Father’s Day.