An other sky

Kadir

Kadir

— 2 min read
Long shadow of person cast over sands along a coastline with a cruiseship lit in the distance under a full moon sky
Light and shadow, full moon night, beach in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain

I went on vacation to Málaga with my partner for ten days earlier this month. On moonlit nights, I walked along the beach shores. I listened to the Mediterranean foam and gush, entranced. I miss the sounds of the ocean when I'm in my lake-surrounded-city-dwelling. The beaches were almost empty in the nights, save for the one cruise ship in the distance. I lay on the sand and looked up at the stars. I used my phone to trace constellations and learn the names of those I could see.

I get up and situate myself somewhere else, another spot on the beach, another day. I look up at the sky. Oh that's Venus, I think confidently, pulled out my phone to confirm, oh nope, that's actually Jupiter. The sky keeps changing. I suppose, the earth keeps rotating, so it seems as though the sky is always different, every few minutes you look up and the moon has slid over, Mars has moved away just a bit. Another sky. Another place. Another time.

Tides recede. Tides wash over the sand.

The sound of the cars on the busy highway a few metres behind me has dulled so all I hear is the water.

I crave for this quiet, this sand, this water, this ocean, this open sky, these stars, these planets, this quiet. Even as I lay here, I know I must leave. I must be on a plane, not on this beach. I breathe, let the fine damp sand run through my fingers, trace outlines of white shells checking for any living beings under the hood.

The moon is so bright I can barely look into her. A flock of birds are running circles around the moon, tiny white specks floating afar.

full moon, dark sky, scattered cumulus clouds
full moon night, clouds

I begrudgingly bid farewell to the sea and walk the palm tree and sycamore filled path back to the apartment. I trace the outlines of lit castles emptied of tourists, walk through manicured maze gardens that await the bloom of roses in the summer.

Windy tree lined path leading up to lit castles on a cloudy night
Windy tree lined path leading up to lit castles on a cloudy night

Another sky. Another place. Another time.

I leave you with four recommendations of art I've thoroughly enjoyed reading/watching/listening to this Black History Month:

  • Music from Saharan Cellphones, thanks to the recommendation on Aminatou Sow's newsletter Crème de la Crème.
  • Akata Witch, a YA Africanfuturist fiction novel, book one of The Nsibidi Script Series by Nnedi Okarafor. I have a copy of their book Lagoon on my desk borrowed from a friend to read next!
  • I rewatched Scandal by Shonda Rhimes starring Kerry Washington this month. It was my first time watching season 7 though. Joe Morton is so good in his character as Eli Pope, I live for his monologues. This household is forever on team Huck, and Guillermo Diaz, so talented in his ex-torture-loving-assassin turned hacker character, earns a place in our heart as a total sweetheart.
  • anti-poetica, a poem by Danez Smith, I read for a writing class I'm currently taking

Thanks for being here, and see you in your inbox next week! <3

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