This short freewrite was inspired by one of my recent lazy beach days. We found the seagulls at Michigan City Beach to be a bit of a nuisance. They crowded around in a vulture-like fashion as soon as we cracked open the cooler and dug out our sandwiches for lunch. However, there was one person on the beach that was not shy about sending the seagulls flying. 

Her jaw is set, eyes ablaze as she charges across the beach. Small, weather-smoothed stones jut up from the wet sand to meet her bare feet but she hardly notices. A sharp gust ripples the glittering blue to her right, whipping her braids behind her shoulders, threatening to slow her progress. But the wind is no match for her. She unleashes a wild roar, arms thrust into the sky as she meets her foe. The two highlighter orange inflatable bands on her biceps make her look large and menacing. Her tiny feet send up a great spray in the shallow water as she gives chase to an offending flock of seagulls. They’re sent squawking and fluttering down the beach. 

“Good riddance!” She thinks quietly to herself as she turns on her heels and stomps purposefully back the way she came to where her mother waits with a towel and a bottle of 30 spf sunscreen.