Stillness.

There is a moment of stillness after I lie down at night.

It's fleeting, as I am quick to fall asleep these days, but it's there, briefly. Inviting me to live in the moment - to recognize the sand still stuck to the bottom of my feet and to note the heat that is still seeping from every insect bite on my body. My ears are flooded with the melody which plays when the rumble of the Pacific Ocean meets the rhythmic beat of the cricket's chirp and the clicking of the geckos that care perched on my wall. These lizards remind me of M.C. Escher sketches that have come to life. The breeze that is coming through the window is causing my insect net to flutter and I watch carefully as a lone mosquito makes its way through a small opening - a little half moon entryway where the net meets the cloud blue bed sheet on which I now lie. I pull the mosquito net tighter around me preventing the intruder from making contact, close my eyes and drift off...