Utopia ... more creative writing

In last week's class we talked about imagery and our homework was to write a piece called Utopia. 

Call me an old (*sob*) cynic but the word Utopia makes me think of  a place where everything's perfect on the face of it but if you look closely it resembles 1984. Anyway, there are a couple of us whose writing is a  little on the dark side and when I said what my idea of Uptopia was, Ian said that we weren't to make it dark and it was to be the conventional understanding of the word. 



It’s hot. The sort of heat that makes your skin tingle and hits you like a wall when you step outside. I take a breath and hold onto my mask and take a giant stride. The water caresses me as I dive down. A deliciously cool respite from the heat. I look around in wonder as I float weightless in the deep wide blue. I gasp at the brilliant colour of the fishes as they dart amongst the delicate fronds of coral and grey hulks of rock, surrounding me, enticing me to join them in their dance. A silent cinema screen that I am a part of.

Two dives later and we’re lying on the top deck, searching out a coveted shady spot, lazily dreaming of ice cream and a cold beer. Chatting quietly, listening to the lapping water against the boat.

We head to the beach, the short boat trip can’t take more than a couple of minutes but it feels like a lifetime as we’re all impatient to be on land after several days aboard the boat, aching for a brief lull from the constant motion.

I don’t remember which island it was, but I can still feel the softness under my feet, see the dazzling brightness of the pristine sand contrasting with the deep turquoise of the sea. I can still smell the salty fragrance of the air.

I stand on the beach, struggling to take in the beauty that I’m surrounded by. The dark gray rocks strewn across the beach, jutting out of the sand and tumbling into the sea. Smooth and warm to the touch, providing no respite from the heat. The brightness of the sun makes my eyes squint. As I breathe deeply in, the air warms my body, heating my soul and as I close my eyes, I smile.  

Night falls. There is no light pollution. The stars are infinite, so bright against the darkness which envelops me. The lapping water is just background music now and I can only hear deafening silence. The air is still, gentle somehow, rather than the unrelenting heat of the day. I lift my head and stretch my arms wide to embrace the day.