This was the year that the Smith family was going to take a nice vacation to Thailand. It has been a long time since their last vacation so Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith and Billy were excited. They finally get to spend some time together and this was Billy’s dream vacation.

Billy couldn’t stay still on the plane. There were soo many smells in the air that were calling him in many directions. He finally knew what it must have felt like to be a dog. He was restless and his mom was having a hard time controlling him. “Honey please come back here”, pleaded Mrs. Smith. Billy didn’t want to go back to those tiny seats. Why would he when there were first class seats on this gigantic airplane? He could hear his mom pleading behind him, and she had a candy bar so he would have to settle with the tiny seats for now. After he ate he slowly slipped into a state of tranquility.

Mr. Smith was relieved when they got to their hotel. Fighting traffic in Thailand was like fight off mosquitoes on a rainy day. They just keep on coming like the multitude of cars he had to patiently wait behind. But it was all worth it when he saw the view from his hotel window. The view of all the majestic waves was enough to calm down his throbbing veins and heart. He just sat there by the window for five minutes gazing at the beauty of the open sea.

Mrs. Smith was a lot more successful at acquiring sleep than her husband. She quickly switched into dream mode, but she was also the first one to awaken from it. Her dream was unpleasant enough to wake her and her husband up. In her dream, Billy and her were playing happily in the ocean. Then, all of a sudden, the lights go dark and Billy is not in her hands anymore. She frantically searches for Billy, but all she hears is the high pitched screech of a terrified little boy. This was enough to wake her up screaming. She could feel the sweat rolling down her face. Mr. Smith was shocked out of his pleasant sleep too. “What happened honey”, questioned Mr. Smith. She explained all the horrific details to her husband but he didn’t seem to mind any of it. He wanted her to just push it off and consider it to be a bad dream. But something kept bothering Mrs. Smith. The idea of a sixth sense popped into Mrs. Smith’s minds. What if her dreams were actually trying to tell her something about the future? She was confused and there were a whole pile of ideas in her mind. She would just have to wait to get the answers for many of them.

Mr. Smith woke up frightened when he heard his wife scream. This prevented him from getting a decent night’s sleep later on. He wasn’t normally the type of guy to believe in a sixth sense, but the timing of his wife’s dream was constantly on his mind. Morning slowly started to arrive. By the time the first rays of light penetrated through the clouds, Billy was awake. Mr. Smith couldn’t help but notice what a beautiful little boy Billy was. From the day Billy was born, Mr. Smith knew that the bond between him and Billy was going to be better than the bond between him and his father and he was willing to do anything to prove this.
“Daddy, are we really going to go shell hunting”, asked Billy suspiciously.
“Yes Billy. I promised didn’t I? You remember right? The worst thing a dad can ever do is break a promise to his son”.
Billy smiled and he seemed convinced and satisfied. All Mr. Smith wanted to do was keep that smile on Billy’s face throughout their time in Thailand. It made Mr. Smith so happy to see Billy like this. Hopefully this vacation would help Mr. Smith to give Billy the childhood that he never had.
Billy was excited from the minutes his toes touched the sand. He was on a beach on the other side of the world. There were so many new shells to collect here and the thought of all the possibilities sent blood rushing through his veins. All the shells were wrapped around Billy’s legs. There were so many different shaped and colored ones and he couldn’t decide on which one to take home. He bent down quickly to grasp them before the wave took them away. Failing many time, he would get some salty water whipped across his face. That just made him laugh a lot more, which in turn got more salt into his mouth. This pattern continued while Billy was playing in the water. Then suddenly, Billy couldn’t see the water around him anymore. This didn’t bother him because he could collect all of his favorite shells and show his dad now. However, Billy knew something was wrong. There was no water on his face or no salt in his mouth. He looked up and what he saw frightened him for a second. The sea had receded about one hundred meters. Billy got scared. It reminded him of a monster waiting for its prey and looking for the right time to lunge. He tried to find his dad, but he couldn’t see him anywhere. That reassured him a little, because if there was any real danger, then his dad would surely be by his side. The sea has been back for a while now. He looks at the vast sea in front of him and he sees something white in the far distance. It seems foamy and white but he can’t see anything more than that. He shrugs off the thought and categorizes them as clouds. Clouds that are very close to the water, but clouds nonetheless. He goes back to his shell harvesting game. Suddenly, something catches his eyes. It’s one of the most colorful shells he has ever seen. He bends down to pick it up. It’s just slightly out of his reach, so he sets down all of his other shells to pick that one up. It was worth it. This was the biggest and most colorful shell he has found all day. Filled with joy Billy starts screaming at the top of his lungs. He looks up and sees other people screaming too. But something is wrong. They are not screaming because they found a shell. No. They were screaming and pointing behind him. Billy turns around only to be met face to face with the scariest possible thing he could have ever imagined.
“Honey we should probably go check on Billy now”, suggested Mrs. Smith.
“I’m sure he’s fine. He probably made some friends by now”, replied Mr. Smith.
“But I don’t think we should leave our son alone in the sea”.
“Ohhhh. . . you worry too much. Let the boy have some fun. I’m sure he’ll be fine. Besides, the worst thing that could happen is if he got swallowed by a shark or something”.
Once he opened his eyes, he saw the wall of water right in front of his body. It was the most unexpected thing Billy could have hoped to see. All the colors in that wall surprised Billy because from the surface, he only saw the blue. It was so beautiful and that was the only thing that ran in his mind before the wall came crashing down. The water seemed so magnificent to Billy up until the minute it touched his skin. It came down with such force and power. Every single bone in his body felt the water pushing down on his skin and slamming him against the sandy sea floor. Billy knew what the ultimate punishment felt like. How could something so beautiful hurt this much? In a flash, water was around him and now he was swimming with the fishes. They seemed at peace while he thrashed his arms wildly below the water. The bones in his legs refused to move as he tried to maneuver them. Salty water quickly flooded the space in his mouth as he instinctively screamed for help. This salt water was much different than the one that slapped him playfully across his face. This one cam at him with full vengeance. Billy finally made it on top of the wave. Fresh air felt so good as it entered and exited his lungs, but before he knew it, his lungs were once again filled with water. He couldn’t take it anymore. All his efforts went to waste as he came down close to the surface of the sea yet again. It might sound impossible but Billy could feel himself cry. He was engulfed in water and surely there was no more room for anymore man-made salty water, but he could feel the small droplets rolling down his cheek. The only source of warmth in this endless tank of cold molecules.

A flood of memories ran through his mind. Death was creeping on him quickly and he only wished that he had some time to say goodbye to everyone one he knew and loved. Especially his dad, who wanted to make this the most perfect vacation for him. He wanted to apologize for everything he has ever done wrong and he wanted to say one last goodbye to his mother, but there was no time for that. The water was ruthless and it ended his life in a blink of an eye.

On shore Mr. and Mrs. Smith were on the safest place in that region at that time, but it was the last place they wanted to be. They couldn’t have wished for anything more than to be down below next to their one and only son.