My Little Watermelon
As I stared into the reflection of myself in the water I thought about the real reasons that I journeyed to Norfolk. As I stood up I carefully covered my eyes to block the rays of the sun as I fumbled in my pocket to find my sunglasses. I looked up over the lake I saw the enormous mill slowly moving clockwise and the myriads of roses and lilies dancing in the wind.

As they swayed from side to side I was suddenly lured deeper into nature and felt a connection within myself. The aroma of the sweet scented flowers filled my nostrils, and soon I was thrust into an epiphanic trance. My eyes closed, and my many thoughts overwhelmed me as I hoped Norfolk was the magical place that could end my emotional turmoil.
Ever since I was a boy I was very quiet and shy. I liked to observe and never liked to talk that much. I would go to school every day like any other kid, but I would stand in the back and watch as kids laughed and played. Even though I loved to play sports I always felt that I had to scope out each and individual person. Know what their strengths and weaknesses were, because I always felt I had to prepare myself just in case they decided to pick on me. One day when I was walking out of my school I saw a little boy being teased by another boy. I stopped and saw how the other boy demoralized the little boy. I suddenly heard footsteps and saw the other boy run away as fast as he could as a bunch of security guards came running in. They kneeled next to the poor little boy who was crying, and whose cheeks were puffed, his face going from red to crimson. I put my head down and walked away.
As I walked through the streets of Norfolk surrounded by its beauty, I saw a secluded ledge whose large crystalline fragments played with the sunlight. This ledge overlooked the beach near the coastline, which had countless footsteps imprinted into the sand. As my eyes followed the trail of footsteps, I came upon an old, broken down boat, hugging the shore. I wondered why it was there and if it was abandoned. I took off my shoes and walked over to the boat carefully stepping into each of the imprinted footprints scattered across the beach. When I finally approached the boat I saw that its paint was faded and the wood was warped. I understood why it was on land rather than on water and being an uncomfortable sailor and somewhat fearful of the sea (sharks), it reinforced the notion that I would never take this boat out.
Feeling the wind on my face and the spray of salt water I suddenly heard a loud scream coming from the sea. I looked and saw a little watermelon looking shape bobbing up and down in the water. Knowing what I should do and not knowing if I would be able to do it, I panicked. My heart was pounding and I felt a shiver down my spine as I was planted to the spot right beside the boat. Despite my fears of sharks and the sea I realized that even I couldn’t allow a person to drown on my behalf, without even trying to help. Without thinking I pushed the boat into the water and hopped on. I picked up the old chipped oar and paddled myself towards the drowning person. I rowed with all my might, not once thinking about myself. As I approached the location I reached for the rope and looked intensely into the deep clear water. Staring at me with a smirk on his face was a big puffy blowfish. I stared back in disbelief as he bobbed up and down, and then I watched as he swam back down into the abyss. I wondered where the scream had come from and then noticed a flock of seagulls flying overhead.
As I stood in the boat dumbstruck I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. As I gaped at the little ripples in the water where the blowfish had been swimming, I raised my head and smiled.