Prompt: Write a story about a first anniversary.

Crashing Waves

Oliver made his way to the sand with his girlfriend, Hannah, by his side. Grateful they decided to come here for their first anniversary. They both stopped to take off their shoes to get the full experience. It was a bright, sunny, and windy day. Oliver couldn’t stop smiling because this was his first time seeing the ocean in his life. They took their socks off and stuck them down in their shoes, setting them aside. Hannah looked over at Oliver, noticing the look of excitement in his eyes.

“Are you ready?”

“You already know I am!” exclaimed Oliver.

They took their first step out onto the sand, Oliver leaving his hand on the small of Hannah’s back. Hannah had always loved that feeling. You know, when you can feel the warmth, in every sense of the word, radiating off the one you love. Oliver couldn’t help but really enjoy the moment—the feeling of the hot sand between his toes.

He could hear the seagulls squawking as they flew above, and the beautifully soothing sound of the waves crashing against the shore. As they walked further into the middle of the beach, Oliver let his toes slip deeper into the sand, allowing his feet to feel the coolness. He then closed his eyes, looking up towards the sun, feeling the warmth on his face and seeing the bright light behind his closed eyes.

Hannah grabbed Oliver by the hand after a few minutes and pulled him out of his peaceful moment, bringing him back to reality. “Do you smell that salt in the air?

“Yes, babe, I do. This is all so peaceful.” Oliver stated. He looked around, noticing all the families at the beach, the kids in the water, splashing one another. There were teens playing volleyball, laughing and jumping around, and hitting the ball back and forth over the net. Suddenly, he noticed that the sand became hard; he looked down and realized it was because they had reached the shore. Where the waves crashed down on the sand, compacting it.

Hannah led Oliver out into the water; they went waist deep. He took her in his arms and leaned in for a kiss just as a bigger wave crashed into them, knocking them off balance and submerging them in water. When they finally managed to stand up, Oliver noticed. His nose and eyes were burning because of the saltwater.

He heard Hannah laughing and was finally able to open his eyes to see her standing there watching him with the biggest smile on her face. He could see the love in her eyes for him. Oliver could get lost in those big and beautiful brown eyes. He took her in his hands and kissed her; he kissed her with all the love he had inside of him. As Oliver felt her arms wrap around his neck, he quivered and, in that moment, he knew.

She is the one. 

I do not own the rights to this photo.

rich. (n.d.). Aerial shot of turquoise ocean waves crashing on a golden sandy beach (Asset ID #1662409799) [AI-generated image]. Adobe Stock. https://stock.adobe.com/search/images?k=crashing+waves&search_type=autosuggest&asset_id=1662409799