i sat on the sand and dug my toes into it feeling its coarse grains gently rubbing my feet. it felt cold and i just had to smile because it had been a while since i last felt at peace with myself. i closed my eyes and listened to the waves as they crashed to shore. the cold wind blew and i no longer cared about all my worries. it was like all of a sudden i dropped off the load that was on my back as soon as i sat on the sand. i tilted my head to the sky, eyes still shut then opened them to meet the bright rays of the sun. it shone down on me like i was the only person there. i had to squint until the rays hurt my eyes.

i don't know what happened after that. i must have fallen asleep. the next thing i knew i was running along a tunnel and it was pitch dark. i was running and running with no destination in mind. my only goal at the moment was to reach the end of the tunnel. but it never came. i started to become afraid. i called out for help but no one came until i finally stopped running and sat on the ground. i hugged my knees tightly to my chest and let tears fall. i was shivering. i was cold. i was afraid. i never felt so alone. then finally when i was too tired to cry, i stood up and carried on with the run. then it happened. finally it was there- an openning at the end of the tunnel. it stretched too far out that i thought i wasn't going to get to it but i did.

it was then when i finally woke up. i was still at the beach curled into a fetal position on the sand. it was already getting dark. over the horizon, i saw what was left of the sun that was setting. it painted the whole sky into an explosion of colors: orange, yellow, and peach. it was so beautiful that the entire sky almost looked like a painting.

i smiled. the day was about to end. darkness will settle once again but there's tomorrow. it's going be another day, a brand new one to start anew. and somehow i felt that i was going to be okay and most of all, i was at peace with myself.