It was Will who suggested they skip class and go to the beach instead. His three friends looked at him like he was crazy for wanting to go in the middle of fall, but they all crammed into his busted I-had-to-pay-for-this-car-myself-shut-up pick-up truck and went anyways.

Before the wheels even touched the sand, his three friends had jumped out and raced each other towards the coast to play tag with the sea. Will continued to drive the truck alongside them with the windows rolled down, letting the breeze dissolve him and take parts of him elsewhere.

Eventually, he stopped the car and joined his friends and together the boys ran along the shoreline. They ran to get away until there was nothing left to get away from. They ran against the wind until they got tired and decided to run with it instead. They ran until they realized they were simply running for the sake of running... not towards something or for something. They didn't need a specific purpose quite yet, and that was a beautiful thing.

Will slowed his pace down and watched his friends continue to race along the horizon. His lungs were on fire; his heart was about to burst out of his chest; his nose stung from breathing in the cold air and hot tears rolled down his cheeks from his burning eyes. As the wind carried his friends' laugher back to him, he took a minute to let his mind transcribe the fleeting notes. This was it. This was the beginning of his forever.

But just as quickly as the feeling came, it left. In an instant, the rowdy waves became sullen, the whirring wind fell silent, the morning fog had cleared, and the hard sand gave way to the weight of his sinking heart as he reached a state of sad clarity.

Why is it that the happiest moments rush to us in sudden fear?