A Good Night

There were small groups of people huddled in corners, under trees, on patches of grass and sand, each taking a smoke. They had to step out of the pub for their smoke since the new rules demanded that.

I sipped my shaken lime margarita.

My friend gulped down her pint of Stella Artois.

Three young boys’ laughter captured our attention. The people at the tables around us turned to look too, as the boys raced down a stretch of road. This boyish laugh wrinkled their faces and forced them to stop their run when its trail consumed them.

Couples strolling along East Coast beach smiled as they watched this display of youthfulness.

Other groups of people – some cycling, some blading, others merely taking a night walk – all ceased their activities for those brief few seconds.

But inside the pub, the band continued their song in their own playground. As their seductive voices filled the night air, the patrons at the pub started moving their bodies, slowly at first, then more rigorously as the music filled their soul.

I was moving along too, I noticed.

A breeze caressed me as I turned to look up at the stars above. The lapping of the waves just a few metres away was intoxicating. I wanted to sway to the rhythm of the music and the waves combined.

Not tonight, I thought.

Tonight, I was content to sit there, on the wooden deck of the shack, allowing my margarita to sooth and refresh my heightened senses, while indulging them in the sweet, sensual music that surrounded me.

Some nights are just special in its simplicity… or perhaps by just the right combination of magic thrown together – a glass of cocktail, a passionate rendition of a few common songs, and a subtle message carried on the winds of nature, whispering quietly, “This is what life is about.”