Personal Paradise

I awoke with a start, hoping beyond hope that last night had not just been a dream, but it must have been. I kept my eyes closed just a little longer, holding onto the picture in my head. Why, why did I have to leave that place? It was so magical, so beautiful…
As I walked off the boat, I had to squint in the bright sunlight. After being in the dark for so long, my eyes weren’t adjusted to light yet. I got to the end of the dock and stepped into the sand. All I could think was how much I needed this, a place to relax. I made my way up the beach, and as I did so I wondered what else was here. I mean yes I wanted to relax, but I didn’t want to be on a deserted island. As soon as I thought this, I heard laughter from behind some trees. I ran over to the trees; the laughter sounded familiar. As soon as I reached the tree line I ran into my closest friends and family. When I asked them why they were there, they just told me they came because I wanted them there. Now, this was all great and everything, but I was a bit scared of it all too. How did they know exactly whom I wanted to see and whom I didn’t? Where did they come from? And how did we all get here? I decided to put it out of my mind for now and to just enjoy it while it was here.
I turned back to my family and friends thinking about what to do next. I think I’d like to play in the ocean, go buggie-boarding and play in the waves, if there are waves. Oh but none of us have bathing suits. Then, all the sudden, one of my best friends called out from the back of the group, “Hey do you guys want to go swimming? I have everyone’s suit.” And I thought to myself that this was just getting weirder by the minute, but we went to swim anyway.
The waves were amazing. We all had a great time, racing on the buggie-boards we found on the beach and playing in the waves. After we were all tired we went to dry off and lie out on the beach or play in the sand. As I lay in the sun, I took in the environment. It was beautiful. The sun was out and it was a warm, but not humid day. I could hear the waves crashing into the shore and feel the sand beneath my toes. The air smelled sweet from the forest behind me and salty from the ocean. I could hear the birds in the sky, the animals in the trees, and my friends laughing around me. It was the most peaceful I had been in a long time.
After a time, I started to get hungry, but I had not brought any food. I sat up and looked around. Many of my friends were back from their various beach activities. We began to talk about where we could get food as many of them we hungry too. One of my friends suggested we go for a walk, back into the trees. Once we were there we began to smell delicious scents, so we followed the scents. They brought us to a large outdoor restaurant. Once we were seated we realized it was like a big outdoor Mongolian BBQ. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and all of us ate way too much including huge desserts. When we asked for our bill the waiter told us that the meal was on the house. Amazed we decided to walk back to the beach for the evening.
Back at the beach, we found a large bonfire. For the rest of the evening, we enjoyed the warmth of the fire and each others company. We talked late into the night until the fire finally died. It was very dark on the beach at this point and we could see the stars with amazing clarity. There was not a cloud in the sky. We decided to take the blankets and sleeping bags left off to the side of the bonfire and set them up on the beach. We fell asleep watching the stars.
…but all good things must come to end I thought as I lay with my eyes closed. I slowly sat up in bed and turned off my alarm clock thinking of how amazing it would be in the world were really like that. What would it be like if we could spend the rest of our lives with our friends and family in the places we loved best and whatever we wanted appeared as soon as we thought about it? Oh well I thought as I got ready for class; hopefully I can at least revisit Paradise in my dreams tonight.