An Acceptable Degree of Insanity

As I move farther from the line where the water crawls to meet the sand, I have to dig deeper to find water. I push my toes in as far as they will go without digging and leave it at that. It's too much work, now. I want to walk down to where the rocks barely rise above the low-tide mark, but I know that distance is just an illusion and they are actually a lot farther away than they seem. I hear a horn but see no boat, I feel the sun through the slight cover of clouds and realize that I forgot my sunscreen but no matter, I can't possibly get burned without prior warning. Something rises from the waves and falls again just as quickly, and for a moment, I think it could have been a mermaid.