text: She lay flat but arched her neck. Looking up she covered her eyes in a vain attempt to protect them from the sun's daggers. The sand on her belly and her legs had dried and now fell away like cookie crumbs when she moved. She would try to lie still. It comforted her to have those little passengers on board. A thin cloak to cover skin that may not be ready to be so bare as she thought it was. She could make out his shape now, standing proudly over her. The drops of water as he waved his hands kept threatening to hit her when they fell but she did not think this would be unwelcome at all. It was hot. Perhaps too much so. It surely hadn't been this punishing a heat when she lay down on the shore for a moment to let the sandwiches and cold tea from lunch settle. That was a while ago now though. It must have warmed slowly. She was a frog in a boiling pot. Still, it didn't matter much. It was bearable. She was nothing if not stronger than your average frog. "I have seen the sea!" He proclaimed in a jaunty tone. The waves crashed behind him as timpani perfectly timed to accompany his exclamations. "Pardon dear?" She knew what he said but desperately loved the sound of his voice and wanted him to repeat it. A short song just for her. To hear him happy, this was what she longed for. It had been years since his voice had bounced so. "The sea! I have seen it. I will conquer it for you. Its horizons, I will venture into the angry blue beast until the water covers my head. Then, when I must swim, my arms will be like the fins of a dolphin and my legs will push me as a steamship's screws. I can swim forever in this. Come with me! Let's swim until we forget what land even looks like!" "And what if we encounter a shark? What shall we do then oh brave adventurer? "Shark? I fear no shark. No whale, no jellyfish, Man-O'-War or other variety. I fear nothing in the sea. Nor should you because I will be there. Shark? Ha! You have to stop worrying about the little things. Even the little things that are actually quite big and have many, many teeth." He smiled and broke character for just a moment, laughing a little at himself and his ridiculousness. She reflected that smile, as she had a thousand times before. "That's wonderful. Move a little closer, cover the sun with your shadow for me." He moved forward, his form cutting the light and giving her a tiny respite from the heat. His smile replaced the sun. Staring down at her the she could see could see just as much brightness in his eyes. She smiled back even more so. A duel. Who was happier? For just a second she closed her eyes to rest and when she opened them he was gone. He had not been there at all. The mind, when it wants, can paint such pictures. It can make you taste fruit you are not even eating. When it wants, the magician in your head will fool you every time. He was gone as he had been for fourteen months now. It wasn't as bright as before. Now she had to fear the sharks everywhere again. Still, it was hot, the sand was on her belly and the timpani continued to play.