The Dearly Departed

I am miles away, but I can already smell the salty sea air. I quickly grow impatient, ready to have the warm water wash up on my feet and clean the sand from between my toes. Finally, we arrive and as I race towards the water- anticipating the tide drawing me closer into its warm embrace- I can hear sea gulls above my head quickly flapping their wings. While I play, I can smell Dad making lunch- mushroom burgers, my favorite…
Now, as I stand before my best friend, tears well up in my eyes and fall down my face, mixing with the snot running from my nose. I look down and run my fingers through the deep ridges of the vividly- colored sea shell he gave me during that trip. I can clearly remember when I was sitting on my towel, watching the sun set and fill the sky with bright oranges and purples. He ran up to me with an excited expression on his face and dropped the sea shell from his mouth into my hand….
“I will never forget you, Sparky. I love and miss you so much!” I scrambled to get the words out of my mouth as my mom placed the blanket- wrapped creature into the deep hole in our backyard.