Gracie felt the sun's intensity as she knelt, digging in the sand. Looking up, she watched the waves and listened for their thunderous clap pounding the shore. She dropped the plastic shovel, slipped off her Crocs and ran till the ocean reached her knees jumping and splashing. 

She looked up the beach and spotted their big yellow umbrella. Her mother sat drenched in suntan oil wearing an oversized floppy beach hat, head buried in a book.

Gracie was calling to her before a wave caught her off-guard knocking her off her feet. Swallowed by the turbulent sea, she was underwater with arms flailing and legs kicking. The undertow dragged her along the bottom, scraping her skin, burning. 

She tried to scream but only managed to swallow sea water, with the salty water burning her eyes.

Those seconds felt like hours. The wave retreated leaving Gracie face down in the sand. She coughed and rubbed her eyes, sand stuck in her bathing suit, seaweed in her hair. 

Gracie ran to the yellow umbrella where her mother stood with an uneasy look. She grabbed her hand pulling her to the water. 

“Mommy, come and play, please? This is the bestest day ever.”