Crystal clear salt water licked the toes of the young girl standing at the edge of the shoreline. The mellifluous sound of the chilly sea water lapping up the sand patiently waiting at the shoreline filled the small girls ears and the soft breeze brought the overwhelming scent of salt water wafting up her nose and wrapping around her small frame, caressing her face and whispering sweet things in her ears. The suns rays warmed the breezy day and the heat sent warmth coursing through her body like the steady beat of a slow, lazy stream. A sense of freedom and carelessness lifted the girls spirits as a buoyant breeze ruffled her sundress and the convivial beauty of the beach filled every one of her senses. Suddenly, as if someone had flicked a switch, the sky went dark. The little girl looked up at the sky in fear to see that the sun was shrouded by black, menacing clouds rolling her way like a stampede of wild buffalo. Horror darkened the girls features as she watched the peaceful waves suddenly become wildly out of control, bumping up and down, crashing on the shoreline with a vengeance like any other she had ever witnessed. Before she could be crushed by the unforgiving wrath of a wave, she ran up the beach which had now become a war zone of horrifying fatality of innocent sea life. The sand was no longer a light toasted brown dotted with white flecks of broken seashells, it was now covered with dirty looking seaweed and dotted with jagged parts of shells broken by the rough waves that had taken over the sea. The furious winds tore through the young girls hair and threw grit and sand into her eyes and face making it hard to see anything besides darkness. Just as the girl was jostled to the ground by a merciless gust of wind, everything stopped. The sea was now calmly brooding and the thundering clouds were now thinning out causing some of the darkness to recede, leaving a grim gloom to hang over the beach like a hangman’s noose. The unbearable stench of rotting fish filled the air and hung there without the rampant winds to wash it away. The befuddled child just sat in the soggy sand, to bewildered to do much of anything besides take in the scene surrounding her. The petite girl shook her head and put her head in her hands as she realized what we had done. This was no random storm that had destroyed so much, that had so cruelly and selfishly obliterated the once beautiful beach, this was global warming rearing its ugly head and the realization of this stole the air out of the girls lungs, hurting her more than the storm itself. If nothing is down to put an end to global warming, it will have a lot more in store for us.