51 Warmth

Strolling along the sandy beach, Chang let the surprisingly warm sea water lap around her ankles. Her leather riding boots sat on the shore beside the seated Jian, who watched as she splashed through the water smiling, with his chin in his hand. To her delight she could not help thinking that the place was beyond perfect. 

After a while Chang had become used to the rocking, rolling motion of riding and found herself enjoying the ride.

Surrounding the city were farmland plots filled with rows of rich black earth, some dotted with bits of life. After riding for around an hour or so the farms had given way to hilly open countryside adorned with spots of color from wildflowers

As they had ventured further away from the bustling city and through the grassy knolls headed north, she started to see wildlife around them. Small deer and elk and a myriad of other smaller creatures wandered through, some moving away as they saw the people. 

It looked like it had come straight out of a picture book, or a story she had read as a child. As she admired the view Chang could not help smiling while taking in deep lungfulls of the clean, fresh air. 

After living in LA for so long, she had gotten used to the daily acrid smoggy smell that permeated everything, and left a tang in your mouth on days. Even the salty freshness of SF, which it enjoyed from sitting right by the ocean, had the foul smell permeating throughout from all the people. This place's air was completely untouched by any of that, and it had a sweet taste to her. Feeling the bliss bubbling up in her she began to sing lightly, filling the air around them with the clear sound.

"Oh it's a beautiful morning-

I think I'll go outside

Oh it's a beautiful morn~ing

Oh yeah"

She could not remember all the words to the song as it had been a long time since she last heard it, but the feeling still fit with what she felt now.  It had been one of her father's favorite to sing when they would hike together. As they would hike together he would always be singing or whistling a cheery tune. Smiling fondly at the memory, Chang sang what she could remember of his song.

As they headed north a wooded area started to come into sight. The trees were starting to show just a tint of yellow and red as fall arrived, but still proudly displayed their summer greens. The woods continued and got thicker to their left, leading to a mountain range not too far in the distance densely forested with evergreens. They quickly passed through just a fringe of the woods to come across a secluded beach in a small half moon shape at the bottom of a rise. The sparkling white sands had enticed her, making her eyes sparkle.

As soon as she had seen it,  Chang eagerly anticipated getting in the water, it had been so long since she had last been to a beach.

Jian dismounted first and helped Chang off her horse as she could not seem to get her leg up and over. Her legs and hips seemed to be stuck stiff in a bowlegged position at first and she had to stretch for a bit to be able to walk right.

Once she was able to walk she raced to the shoreline, leaving Jian who was removing the horses' bridles so they could graze freely. She stripped off her leather boots and the shawl and went to the water's edge. When it hit her toes, she anticipated freezing ocean water but was startled by the warmth almost the temperature of bath water.

"Ah it's so warm!" She couldn't help exclaiming in surprise.

She ran back and took off her pants and threw them atop her boots so that she could venture further into the water. Jian started to come down the rise as she ran back into the water splashing.

Liang Jian Amal listened with a smile on his face as she laughed and played through the water. He had always dreamed of taking her here since hearing that she loved the beach. This had been his favorite secluded spot, but since meeting her, he dreamed of seeing her here, smiling, carefree. Brightening up his world.