Summer Ritual

It was a humid summer night as Sydney, Sasha, and Simone, the "three S's" as they were often  called, sat on the beach just after midnight, a week before school started. The water stretched out in front of them, smooth and calm, a mirror, reflecting the moonlight.  The sky was dusted with 1,000's of stars that twinkled and winked at the girls, just as they had done each year, every year, since the summer after 1st grade. 

This had been their special tradition for as long as they could remember- a precious ceremony, where they let go of the year before, and entered the one to come. Regardless of what had happened over the summer- the fights, the vacations without each other, the drama, the daytime fun- all came second to this night- the last Monday night before school started. Everything that had happened before was forgotten as the girls would pad barefoot across the sand, so hot during the day, but now, under evening’s caress, cool and moist. They would walk down to the water that ran along the eastern border of Sasha's house to their special rock- the one shaped like a whale’s tail that they had first discovered so many years ago.

The first few times, they had tiptoed cautiously, their little feet scampering quickly as they whispered and giggled to each other so as not to be caught in the midst of their forbidden rebellion. Now that they were older and allowed more freedom, they no longer had to be quite so sneaky but there was still the air of excitement that each of them associated with this night. Tonight was no exception and the air seemed to be alive with anticipation as they sat- just the three of them, contemplating the year to come. Sometimes they talked. Sometimes they giggled. Sometimes they cried.  It didn't matter. It was their sacred tradition and they hadn't missed even one year since that first year, 11 years earlier.

This year was especially significant. It was senior year - a year they knew would determine their destinies and shape the rest of their lives. It would be a year of many beginnings, and many endings, as well. As the girls sat on the familiar rock that was shaped like a whale's tale, they were silent, each one caught up in their own thoughts and memories of years past on this very same patch of beach.

Sydney was the first one to speak.

"Remember the first time we did this?" she asked, giggling. Simone was so scared, she peed her pants!"

Sasha started to laugh. "Yeah, and she was so embarrassed and kept insisting she had gotten wet from sitting on damp sand..."

Simone, indignant and trying to protect her 6 year old dignity of 11 years ago protested "I did get wet from the sand! A wave had just washed up on the beach before we got there."

Sydney snorted and Sasha, snickering, wrapped her arms around her two best friends, still giggling.

The silence returned after this short exchange, as the memories of summers past continued to roll through their minds as if on a movie screen. There was the summer they were 9 when Sasha had broken her leg water skiing and was on crutches. She couldn't navigate the soft sand so Sydney and Simone had carried her between them rather than skip the tradition that year. They had wobbled and stumbled, tripping more than once, landing in an undignified heap and laughing in the sand. There was the summer when they were 11, when Sydney shared that she had gotten her period for the first time and Simone confessed she had let Asher Timmons kiss her for 4 whole seconds and that it was actually kind of nice. There was the summer before they started high school when they were 14, and they had smuggled a bottle of vodka out of the bar in Sasha’s father’s study for their first sips of what they thought was adulthood. They had gotten so sick and ended up throwing up all night long, each of them swearing off alcohol for the rest of their lives. It was a promise that lasted all of about 3 weeks. There was the summer when they were 16 and Sasha had cried into their shoulders, telling them that her dad was officially moving out of her house and into an apartment with his girlfriend who was only 6 years older than Sasha herself. The memories were endless.

And now, here they were, on what could very possibly be the last summer. Who knew where their lives would be taking them? After graduation, Sasha planned to move to New York to become a famous fashion designer. Simone was staying in L.A. to hopefully attend U.C.L.A- pre-med. Sydney, a bleeding heart, was set  on entering the Peace Corps as soon as she had her diploma.

So many dreams had been brought up, discussed, and celebrated on this beach. So many breakups had been mourned, problems sorted out, gossip exchanged. They were excited for the future but more than a little scared to let go of the past- let go of each other. Would there ever be another summer?

Breaking the silence, Sydney bounced up with a whoop. She had pulled off her clothes and, clad only in her bikini, started spinning in a circle, arms outstretched, head tilted up towards the night sky as she shouted.

"C'mon! Race you to the water!" she shouted. Each summer the girls debated whether or not they should brave the chilly waters on this night but they had never gone through with it. Sydney paused for a minute, turning, and beckoned enthusiastically to her friends. Sasha and Simone stood up, brushing sand off their hands and legs as they rose, stripping down to the suits they had under their clothes in anticipation of perhaps finally making this the summer they went for it.

They linked hands and ran down the sand together, plunging head first into the icy chill of the Pacific at night.

Shrieking from the cold, Simone broke the surface first, gasping, but smiling as she doggie paddled to keep herself afloat. "That was awesome!" she shouted!

Sasha was next. She bobbed to the surface and quickly turned over on to her back floating gently and exclaiming, "Holy crap, that's cold!"

Simone looked around, swiveling her body as she did. “Sydney?” she called softly.

Then, louder, “Sydney???”

Then it was Simone’s turn. “Sydney, c’mon, don’t mess around!”

The two girls looked at each other. Then... silence.

Six days later...

It was a humid summer night as Sasha, and Simone, 2/3's of the "three S's" as they were often referred to, sat on the beach just one day before school started. The water stretched out in front of them, smooth and calm, a mirror reflecting the moonlight. The sky was dusted with 1,000's of stars that twinkled and winked at the girls as they had done each year, every year, one week before since the summer after 1st grade.

Once this had been a special tradition started as little girls in pigtails, each girl finding comfort in the routine and familiarity of something they had done for so long, before plunging into the unknown of a new year.

This time was different. School was about to start, and there would be one less member in the senior class.

Sasha laid her head on Simone's shoulder, at the same time Simone rested her cheek against Sasha's head, and cried.