A kite life

Soaring high above where only birds tend to meander, aimlessly dipping and turning and moving on a thread and invisible wind, a shark dances playfully upon a cloudless sky. I shelter my eyes from the rays of a sun that bears down as I watch high above, wondering where it will land. Below the sight, swimmers frolick in rolling seas, indifferent of the sight above them and a man holds a child’s hand as they guide the fearsome shark towards the sea. The child looks at his fathers face as a smile from ear to ear playfully fills his little tanned face. A family vacation perhaps, moments spent playing kite instead of video games, and a lesson taught on guiding winds and honest time spent in the presence of a loved one. 

I watch them for a few minutes, leaving with only an image of the kite, not wanting to intrude on a father and son moment with my iPad camera. The kite still hung high above as if circling the swimmers in the sea and I kept hearing the theme from Jaws play on the soundtrack of my mind and I smile within to have seen this view today. I glanced at the beach goers, talking on cell phones or sleeping as their bodies burnt in the noon day sun and felt sad for the real fun they were missing out on. Talking to one another, playing together instead of being lost in a device, society today where everything is hurried or in need of constant entertainment. 

I tried once to fly a kite but with no one to teach me, failed miserably and got it stuck in a tree where it was ripped into pieces on some branches….never tried again much to my disappointment but here in this space and time, I could watch and imagine myself holding the string, dancing that beast on the wind with a smile from ear to ear, pretending to be a kid once again, living a moment of sublime glee. And for a moment I was that child, and the peace and memory will live on long after the shark lands and the sun sets down gently upon a tranquil sea.