At any given time, I am a person looking in two different directions.
I am facing the ocean, breathing in the sea air and feeling the warm sand between my toes. It is an eternal summer, and I am forever young. The world is quiet and I am at peace with myself. It is always that magical time between late afternoon and true twilight, and the air is full of all the possibilities only an 18-year-old at Myrtle Beach in the 70’s can anticipate.
My other self looks toward a winter sky, silent with snowfall. I can see my breath in the air, and the world looks swept clean. It is always ten days before Christmas, and the world is serene and filled with the scent of pine and candles and the only sound I hear is the crunch of my footsteps on the fallen snow. The day promises a comfortable sofa next to an open fire, fairy lights and sweet music, and I feel the same longing I felt as an eleven year old, dreaming by the Christmas tree.
If you are looking for me, you will always find me in one of these places. It’s only my body you will find here, standing around, masked and gloved, hoping that it will see another beach, another Christmas.
Teddy Raye 