Bliss

Untitled | by Rose Slade | drawing

Bliss by Sydney Seiler

A bright yellow ring appeared around the sun, hugging her until her face turned pink. The sun hid behind the horizon and hid her stage fright from the stares of the people on the beach and hid from the rest of the world. Her blushing cheeks were vibrant, magnifying against the cloth background of the sky. 

Her cheeks burned brighter and the coral pinks and reds accentuated her blue sky; people “ooed” and “awed” in mesmerization. The harder she tried to disappear from the flashing cameras and gawking stares, the more attached to her they seemed. The cameras flashed louder and the faces gawked wider as she tried to fade into the abyss of the horizon as fast she could. She was traveling 200 kilometers per second, but it felt much slower. 

As her reflection in the pool of water hushed from a loud orange to a deep purple, her eye caught on two figures, sitting in folding plastic travel chairs quietly and contently. Their presence seemed inherent to the very aura of the sun, reflecting their contentment amongst each other. The sun’s heart rate slowed and her breath paced. The couple looked so happy just staring at her, and the sun started to smile and flash colors onto the clouds above.

Every evening when the couple sat in their chairs and stared at the sun, she felt a sense of pleasure. She could care less about the whole world watching her every day and every dawn and every dusk; for she only really felt herself when those two individuals were admiring her. It seemed silly, but the simplicity of the mutual admiration between the two strangers and the sun brought her a feeling nothing else could compare to.  She peacefully stared back at the pair and the colors above her halo dimmed from sharp neons to silent blues. As she seamlessly slipped behind the horizon, she thought to herself:

The presence of the couple; that’s all I needed to feel bliss.

· · ·

The space between the couple on the beach was so distinct that it was almost as if the two were seventh graders on a first date. The awkward space in between them should  have been uncomfortable and a little strange, however it brought comfort to the couple. It wasn’t awkward nor strange, in fact it was rather sweet. They knew the other was about a foot away; enough to be together, but enough to experience their favorite memories separately. 

 · · ·

The man sat to the left of the woman. He had nothing too special about him, aside from what lay on his head. His floppy hat was on the brink of being garbage. It was over forty years old and had traveled nearly around the world. It had seen things people both wish to see and wish they never saw. The rip on the back half of it was elaborately fixed with duct tape and has held up for the time being. The laced ribbon on the edge was gifted to the man during his trip to Texas in 1996. The little ring dangling from its rim was found in his trip to the Grand Canyon in ‘89 and attached to remember the adventure. The straw used to fix a hole on the top of its brim was sewn and embedded in the late 90s when the hat started to weep. 

The hat has lost many things during its time, but the one thing it has never lost was its ability to bring the man comfort. He’d worn this hat for forty years and has never gone a day without the joy of wearing it. The smile that grew on his face every morning-- when he woke up and laid the hat on his balding head-- was one-of-a-kind. Any new hat couldn’t nearly have the same magic that this one had. This one was so simple and old, yet gave the man so much delight.  

The chair the man sat in was shiny, new, and expensive. It cost him a fortune, which seemed weird considering that the man spent the bare minimum on any purchase he made. He sat very comfortably in his chair, for it perfectly surrounded his body. Afterall, he watched the sunset almost 

every night with the woman next to him and in order to do that for her, to be with her every night and to sit next to her daily, he found he needed to be comfortable. 

The book that laid next to him contained boring words listed in a boring order, all inside a boring cover with a boring plot. He hated the book, but continued to read it because the woman sitting next to him loved it. It made her happy seeing him turn the pages, and when her eyes glittered with joy and her smile widened, the man’s whole world lit up. 

Just the simple quiver of a smile from her: that’s all he needed to feel bliss. 

· · ·

The man sitting next to her had a thing for hats. He loved how they molded to his head when he wore them out. He loved how they carried different smells and textures with them, holding within them his memories. The woman wasn’t very fond of hats, for she didn’t really like the feeling of something covering her head. She did, however, own one. Her hat sat next to her and her chair on the sand, never having been worn. The woman loved that hat, not because of its ability to shade her face, but for the mere pleasure it brought the man; and when he was pleased, she was, too.  

The woman preferred having short hair. Not for the particular style of it, but because it wouldn’t blow into her face with the beachy winds. She loved watching the sunset as often as possible, and she found it hard to do so with long stringy hair flying at her. Her love for the sunset was one-of-a-kind; she experienced a sense of euphoria when the colors blended together in a seamless blur, fading into an abundance of glittering stars.

Unlike the man, the chair she sat in was purchased at a dollar store three years ago. It had holes in the bottom and was stained with unknown contents, but it didn’t matter. Even though it was uncomfortable, staring at the sunset made it all okay. She looked at the sky’s vibrant coloring and suddenly being uncomfortable seemed irrelevant. Her breath slowed and all her worries washed away into the ocean, crashing at her feet. Her daily anxieties vanished and she felt grounded; her toes in the sand and her hands shuffling through earth’s shells. The world stopped spinning and for a mere thirty minutes while the sun was setting, and to the woman, it was all okay; everything was going to be alright.

Just the simplicity of watching the sun set: that’s all she needed to feel bliss.