I looked down into the palms of my curled up hands, to see what they held, to see what once was my only friend.

I let my eyes rest, and breathed in the salt of The tiny transparent pieces that my hands sheltered, and protected from the world.

I like to call them the tears of the ocean. They're the insignificant fragments of memory that scatter along unseen waters. Sometimes, I bet each one has a story to tell.

As I took in the last shred of intoxication i could get from that breath, it all came back to me. Like a splash of freezing water on the hottest summer. It gave me knowledge.

I felt the wind, that allaying burst of air the sea sweeps along the earth. I enjoyed the feel of my toes dancing in between the moistened sand. I watched the waves collide into the rocks with a strength beyond compare.They reminded me of warriors guarding the bad.

My friend always forgave me. Summers passed quickly and I couldn't visit for many nights. Though he accompanied me in my dreams, and he gave me small bits of colored glass to keep inside my heart.The very pieces of glass I then held.

I used to depend on the oceans arms to guide me as I leaped across the miles of stone I once explored. I could always trust him to make sure I skipped the uneasy slabs that wobbled.

He always made sure I made it safely to the tallest rock, the one I called my castle. He told the breeze to let me stand against its movement, and to imprison me tightly in its grasp. He made sure to cast aside other thoughts, and to whisper to me the song of the blue, as I stood atop the highest peak.

I remember people mocked the birds that laughed, but I convulsed in unison. I couldn't let other friends of the ocean be lonely. When I asked the ones who raised me if I could go out alone, they said no, because the water would take my breath from me. They didn't understand.

I kissed each fraction of compacted grains I captured, then let them fall. They splashed into the tides of water curling in and out along the shores. Then, I watched as each pebble was swallowed up again.

Of course when I came across a colored treasure, I knew it was just what i was looking for. My friend said to always keep these jewels, because I wouldn't be back for a long time.They were his gifts to me.

When it was time to go I didn't want to say my goodbyes. I would be empty without his touch, his security. He shielded me from anything that was not pure.

I let my body release into the tenure of the deep, as it swayed me back and forth like my own cradle. It controlled me, loving all of me for everything I was. My tender soft skin felt harbored from the harshness of the earth.

I sunk lower and farther until I only floated freely, like my forgotten crystals. The oceans touch smoothed me, and contained me from danger. I let the salt brush my lips and taste me, make me sour, like the glass tears of the ocean.

I looked down into the palms of my curled up hands, to see what they held, to see what once was my only friend.