• A gently sloping sandy beach stretched far off into the horizon. The sea was a long way out and damp marks could be seen where the receding tide had been. Tall craggy cliffs loomed upwards into the darkening sky. The sun was setting, creating a warm orangey glow on the thin, wispy high clouds. At first there were a lot of people on the beach: dog walkers, children playing and searching the shallow rock pools for crabs, older people out for an evening stroll and a few youths wandering aimlessly around. But as the sky grew darker everyone deserted the beach and went about their business elsewhere.

    One couple could still be seen walking hand in hand along the beach. They paused for a while admiring the beautiful sunset, then turned and walked towards the rock face. The force of the sea had carved out several shallow caves. Pillars of smooth white rock stood before the entrances, like the grand pillars that supported large roman villas. The couple entered one of the larger caves and stared in awe at the creation that Mother Nature had made. They heard the crunching sound of their footsteps on the pebbles echo around the cave and imagined the noise of the wind and stormy waves that must have swept against the rocks, pounding away at them until the softer rock crumbled away, leaving the hollowed out cliffs. Unfortunately the cave smelt of rotting fish and salty decaying seaweed, so they didnʼt stay inside for very long. Emerging from the caves they walked further down the beach and the pebbles gave way to the smooth damp sand.

    They stood staring out towards the setting sun. Slowly it sank towards the sea, the now orange-red orb appeared to touch the sea and slowly melt into it, before, finally disappearing altogether. Almost immediately the darkness of night took over. It was as if a light switch had been pressed. Several minutes later the coupleʼs eyes adjusted to the darkness and they could see the twinkling of distant stars in the inky black sky. The moon began to rise. It was a full moon glowing white with a hazy glow around it that looked like a halo. Its reflection on the water cast a long white mark that shimmered across the gentle waves.

    The couple continued their walk along the beach. It was getting very late by now so they made their way towards the sea wall and the exit from the beach. At the start of the slipway they turned to have one more look at the scenery. While the woman was looking up into the sky the man, being much taller than her, lowered his head and gently kissed her on her lips. He began to pull away, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him there. He kissed her again, this time with more passion. Neither of them cared that they were in a public place. He pulled her closer to him, but at the moment several people noisily walked past and broke the spell. ~