Jason by Lionus (2003)

Met one day at the beach.

A spur-of-the-moment day off and a ride to the beach. Solitude mixed with the open sky meeting the bright sea meeting the far away horizon. A warm morning for late April. The day had the promise of the Spring yet to come.

The beach was almost empty. A few middle-aged couples strolling along the edge of the water smiling and chatting. Probably driven out of their sheltered homes to the beach by the feelings of having been cramped for too long by the long dark winter months just past. They were there, but the beach was so open, wide, and sunny that one did not resent their passing presence. One could still be alone and uninterrupted with one's own thoughts.

There were a couple of surfers, small as they sat on their boards far out in the dark blue water animatedly talking among themselves as they waited for their wave. 'Gods, they must have fire in their veins to be in that cold Atlantic water at this time of the year," I thought to myself as I watched them with an envious little smile on my face.

Then unexpectedly a voice from right next to me. "Hullo."

Pencil sketch.