The cruise had released us into Cozumel, Mexico, meaning “Island of the Swallows”. It was an attractive day, with the breeze and the light heat of the sun. The pier had the smell of the salted sea and the wet wooden dock. A welcoming sign stood tall and hefty, warming our minds to the thought of Mexico. My family and I walked to the town taking in the island’s culture, watching the people converse. Small accents of Spanish were thrown our way as we walked the streets of Cozumel. Shopkeepers and hagglers yelled about their sales trying to get our interest, and I admit there were great things, but the greatest had not been seen yet.
I could tell the town wasn’t rich, for there were papers flying through the gravel ways, and stone buildings with broken doors. Yet, I was not bugged by it at all, in fact, I thought it was amazing. I thought it was amazing, this city, with all of its glory, with its bustle of people and shout of sales. Its sense of jubilance and ocean humidity in the air made me smile wide. Birds chirped in the skies, inducing laughter on my tongue. I wanted to hug the chipped walls and run through the wet grounded alleys. Cozumel, it had an essence of a home I never had, it raised my heartbeat and I felt like I was fluttering with the citizens.
The atmosphere was my desired shade, a cloudy sunlight. It shone down upon the white stone constructions, two stories high, with archways open for small shops. Some had pillars that held the second level in place, adding beauty to something you think wouldn’t have beauty at all. The islanders wore decorative button up shirts with designs of plant life and nature upon them. Many colors took place and spread across their tops.
It always astonished me that all this could happen to me in a few minutes. My outlook changed so quickly due to this island. It wanted me to be like this for the rest of my life, to be somewhere exciting and down to Earth and our creations, the fact that our evolution into this nature had been ignored for the sights of electronics. I mean, look what this culture had created, and look at how pleased they were in their environment. I knew I belonged here.
That’s when I saw it, the perfect memory to look back on, inside a minor shop with open archways and a dirty ground of squared tiles. The ring I spotted inside expressed this experience for me. It consisted of a sun, a moon, and a star. The ring symbolically whispered the beauty of this place, the existence of happiness, and friendship you could have with the natural world and its species. I bought this ring, and I wear it every day to remind myself of this knowledge and how it was acquired.
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