All my life was white or shades of white, the grey stone was an irregularity that shocked me not then but now...it shocked me. I began to feel afraid, and it was so foreign. I felt even more afraid after identifying the emotion. Just black I saw, the complete opposite of everything I have ever known. It was mysterious but foreboding. I took in a deep breath. Cold air filled me and left me over and over again. I felt something on my left, oh no oh no oh no. It's everywhere, I am already going to be terminated what's wrong! Panic, a new feeling took over and I scrambled up resting on my knees. All still black around me I felt so much. Knees... whoa. I felt little grains under me and wind rushed pulling strings in my face. Oh that's my hair not strings. I suddenly knew more names for the things around me. This is the sand. I am feeling the north winds. I breathed in cool air deeply and out again more comfortable with my new surroundings. When the air I breathed in it had flavor, I immediately identified it as salty, and the word beach formed in my mind.
I stretched out and laid back down on the beach, digging my feet in the cool sand. I stretched my legs arms and torso moving the hair out of my face. Slowly I opened my eyes and saw black still. Wait... blue, deep and still, mysterious but hopeful. Blue in the sky with speckles of my familiar bright colors as stars, all so far away. I saw blue to my right and noticed a light crashing sound from afar. Waves, I concluded. The beige sand, and little green plants occasionally breaking through the sand, stood out as a virgin color to my eyes. I looked down at my new body, no longer the white shape I once knew. I was brown skinned with black hair tied back in a braid. I felt my hair go down my back ending at my waist while I looked over the rest of my skin. I had cloth made from animal skins wrapped around my chest and shoulders. I had a skirt to my knees made with skins, strings, and shells. It was heavy but comfortable, and beautiful I thought as I touched the shells connected to the skirt. Some were flat, curved, unique and individual but beautiful. Suddenly my head hurt as a bunch of other words and images came though. I felt that I was part of a tribe, a Chumash tribe. Then in my minds eye I saw a boy dressed in a simple cloth covering below his waist walking over to me. He looked so small, a child. Other images came of people older than me and wise, like elders but more frail and faces filled with lines. My head hurt more and a sound came from me. I jumped distracted from my pain as I made noises high and low testing out this new ability. I smiled pleased with myself for discovering this capability and looked around my environment and off again to the sky. The blue changed in the distance to a red, orange, yellow, and then a bright circle that burned my eyes. Sun I thought, and my head hurt again. I rested back in the sand and closed my eyes feeling the suns heat grow warmer on me, the soft wind still blowing. When my headache subsided I remembered the word beach again and breathed slowly as to ease the pain. I am on the beach, I thought. I slowly stood and walked toward the blue water that teased my feet by coming close and running away. I felt curiosity and excitement from the waves and smiled again from this new overwhelming feeling. It was beautiful, new, and welcomed and in my bliss I felt water rush over my feet and screamed. The cold surprised me and left my feet clean from sand but cool and wet. I laughed and smiled going further in the water. To my knees cleaning more sand from my legs arms and hair. Behind me a wave grew, which I paid no mind to until it slammed against my back. I lost my footing and could no longer breathe, salty water choked me. I pushed myself up finding air, but was unable to see from the hair in my face. I got two breaths in and two coughs out when another wave pushed me down and toward the shore. I found my self coughing and crawling toward shore. When I was far enough from the water to have no chance of it reaching me, I collapsed on the sand cold, wet, and my stomach achy. Fear did not explain how I felt. I was terrified, the same water that brought me joy and a feeling of living also almost terminated me. I was angry, what is this game? A place of joy and life or death and fear. I choked out more water and held my knees laying on my side. My skirt, once beautiful, appeared tattered and it weighted me down with the water it held. I heard voices from afar and turned to look, only to see unclear shapes distorted by salty eyes and the sun. The voice yelled a familiar word when my headache returned with a vengeance and once again my bright world turned BLACK.