Aurora Magazine 2017

down the shore to the car. Before we would know it, tomorrow would arrive, and we would pack our bags, load the car, and begin our seven-hour drive back home to Indiana. But that was tomorrow, and the sun had yet to set. Now was the time to sit and enjoy the company of the ones that shared this summer adventure with me. While each of them made my life difficult in one way or another on this trip, the friendship they offered was genuine. In the end, it was our friendship that made the journey to this place one to remember, and this spot became the moment where we stepped back and basked in the memories that we had created. Finally, the sun was inches away from the horizon. I gazed out over the water, watching the sunlight dance across the surface of the rising and falling waves. The gentle breeze brushed the hair from my face as the cold water rushed over my sore feet then receded back into the lake. For a moment it felt as if the world was holding its breath, waiting in silence for the sun to cross the skyline. When the horizon caressed the burning sphere, it set the sky on fire. I smiled and marveled in the beauty that a single sunset held, and each of us applauded the magnificent scene that lay before our eyes. For me, our applause was more of a toast to friendship and to the moments I wish could last forever before they disappeared over the horizon.

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