"The Searching Eye" by Barbara J Wickham

The sun’s waning beams reflected off of the multifaceted surface of the grain of sand, creating the illusion of a tiny diamond in the palm of her hand. She moved her eyes to within an eyelash of the pebble to watch in fascination the play of light in its depths. Releasing her mind to the undeniable attraction that pulled her inside, she focused her awareness to the exclusion of everything else. Before her confounded vision could adjust to the chaotic blush of crazed rainbows and dancing reflections within, images began to form.

At first, she thought she was gazing at the pristine surface of a mirror, then the details suddenly emerged to surround her on all possible planes. The light solidified and showed to her a solitary stretch of beach. Crimson crabs, littering the smooth plate of sand, scuttled toward the writhing sea. Her eyes continued to the cresting waters to catch surfacing dolphins with the fading hues of the sky captured on their shimmering backs. The place or time of this scene was unfamiliar and ultimately, unimportant. All that mattered was that it was there before her in its simple glory.

A sudden sensation came over her, like a presence drawing near, however she did not feel threatened. In fact, she was glad for its unexpected company, welcoming its intimate phantom embrace.

With no warning of its intent, it tugged and her feet hesitantly left the earth. A startled doe in a nearby grove of trees paused to tensely watch her rise and a downy hare twitched its inquisitive nose in her direction before scurrying into its warm burrow.

In a release of restless breath, she soared upward until the beach she had stood upon only moments before, took on the appearance of a fine piece of fawn-colored satin, rippling in the sunset. The water, so far below her dangling feet now, appeared serene where before it had rumbled and crashed with menacing coldness. Hard-edged rocks and prickly trees became pieces of a patchwork puzzle, displaying innumerable colors and shades in a softly undulating quilt. The tangy sea air intermingled with spiced earthy aromas until her height made it impossible to tell the difference.

She reveled at the laughter of the daring seagulls nearby and let go a sound of pleasure to join in their mirth of flight; humming to the melody the wind created as it ruffled the plumage of their outstretched wings. All too suddenly, the gleeful song faded as her ascent took her away from their acrobatic play.

Taking in the shifting terrain below, she watched with a hint of regret as the borders between land and water blurred. Before the first wisps of encompassing clouds occluded her vision, she longingly stretched her gaze to take in the myriad of crystal blues, shimmering greens and sacred browns.

Her eyelids dropped protectively as the heavy moistness of the billowing whiteness seeped into every pore on her goose-pimpled skin and weighed down her eyelashes and rippling hair with misty kisses. All around, the sun’s energy created miniature prisms to confuse her sight and the diffuse glow brought silvery life to the subdued haze. In the timeless hush of the cloud’s heart, she bowed her dampened head and breathed deeply of the crisp air, taking a secret joy from the beadlets of moisture tickling her nostrils.

With arms spread wide and chest thrust proudly forward she burst from the cloud tops and cast her eyes down to fondly watch tendrils of mist cling tenderly to her toes, which were spread with delight.

Free from the cloud’s shelter, she twirled and spun as the wind’s caress and the sun’s warmth removed the wetness from her shuddering body. With childlike abandon, she bubbled laughter into the face of the wind.

Below her now was a vast blue-green collage, dotted and striped with puffs of cloud shadow. By shifting her vision over her shoulder, she watched with renewed wonder the swirling masses of storm clouds, capturing in her vision the brilliant violet flashes of concealed lightning. Straining her ears, she caught the brief and alluding rumble of distant thunder.

Announcing its retreat with one last flash of shimmering corona, the sun fell below the bowed, western horizon. Far above, twinkling of light came into view as the ever-patient stars tailed and chased the last smears of glowing aura towards the Earth’s edge.

The deepening night allowed her a sight of the misty blue atmosphere, cradling the planet and keeping the icy chill of space from sapping its warm life. Though she was removed from its shelter, she felt no fear. Neither was she alone in the velvety blackness, for the moon peeked its drowsy head above the Earth’s pregnant bend and gave freely of its companionship.

Now sailing in the windless vacuum of space, she saw out of the corner of her eye the sun reemerge from behind the planet as a subdued sphere of gaseous light. The Earth and its fellow orbiters fell away until they were only miniscule points of color. The sun became a blinking pinpoint, only slightly brighter than its closest brother

She cast her eyes upon this celestial wonder with a motherly fondness and reached out her hand to gather them up. Together they resembled a tiny diamond in the palm of her hand, no larger than a single grain of sand, precariously perched at the edge of an infinite ocean.