The Return to the Sea
a Tiny Kingdom story about remembering joy
Once upon a time in the Tiny Kingdom, the Queen and King took their two beloved princes back to the sea.
The journey took some planning. The beach was far from the castle, and the weeks when dogs could run freely across the sand never lasted long enough. Still, they returned whenever they could, because being there with the boys was something they both loved.
The moment they arrived, the princes knew exactly where they were.
Prince Donder was beside himself with happiness. The sea did that to him. He moved ahead with his ears up, his whole little body alive with excitement, taking in the wind, the sand, the water and every familiar smell as though he had come home again, just as Dingus and the Queen had.
Prince Dingus had already found something to chase.
A bird, perhaps. Another dog. Something moving in the distance that clearly required his immediate attention.
He ran across the sand in utter delight, and the Queen laughed as she watched him go.
This was how they were at their sea.
Donder headed towards the water, full of joy, meeting the waves with the same enthusiasm he brought to everything he loved. He ran in, came back out, turned around and went straight towards them again. Dingus raced along the shore, distracted by birds, dogs and whatever else happened to cross his path.
The King and Queen followed behind, laughing, calling them back when enthusiasm carried them too far and handing out little nibbles from the bag.
The Queen loved watching her boys run, and most of all she loved seeing them this happy.
Donder had a way of giving himself completely to joy. When he loved something, there was no mistaking it. The sea, the beach, the freedom to run, all of it seemed to move straight through him.
And Dingus was never far away, busy with his own adventures, chasing whatever caught his eye and making the whole beach part of his day.
For a while, the wind, the sea and the boys running across the sand were enough. The Queen watched them with that feeling she knew so well, the one that came simply from seeing her beloved boys having the time of their lives.
Later, she noticed that something was wrong. One of those small changes in movement that a mother sees before she knows what it means. The joy of the day was still all around her, yet suddenly she could feel the weight of time catching up with them. The beach blurred behind her worry, and for a while she could think only of what might come next.
Then she looked at her boys again.
They had run free. Donder had thrown himself into the sea with all the happiness in him, and Dingus had raced across the sand after birds and other dogs as if the whole beach had been made for him. The day was still happening, right there in front of her, and she did not want fear of tomorrow to take her away from it.
So she came back to the moment.
She watched them run. She listened to the King laughing beside her. She felt the wind on her face and the sand beneath her feet, and let herself be there with them.
What came later would come later.
For now, her boys were happy.
And their joy, that wild and unmistakable joy, deserved all of her attention.
Later, whenever she thought of that day, she was there again. She saw Donder racing towards the water, bursting with happiness, and Dingus tearing across the sand after whatever had caught his eye. She saw the King beside her and herself standing there with him, watching their boys having the time of their lives.
Donder heading for the sea. Dingus racing across the sand. The four of them together at a place they loved.
And whenever she returned to that day, that was where she found them.