“Be careful!” Roxanne’s cheeks tinged pink when she thought about the accident she had had the last time she was here. The three children waved their hands at her without looking back and dashed toward the waves.
Roxanne quickened her pace and kept up with her children. “Mommy, you’re so pretty!” Estella grabbed Roxanne’s hand and snuggled up to her. Her little face lit up in awe.
There had been a firework event during their last vacation to the hot spring resort. As a result, the beach was overcrowded with people, and the children didn’t get the chance to experience playing on the beach.
It was quiet all around at that moment, save for the sounds of waves crashing against the beach.
Despite their young age and high energy levels, the children couldn’t help but want to quiet down and relax in the face of the calming waves, Roxanne patted their heads and said, “There are not many people here, and it’s really quiet.
That’s why I come here quite often.” Then she took a glance at the surroundings. Still worried, she held Estella’s hand and said to Archie and Benny, “I’m going to bring you guys to a place.”
The two boys snapped back to their senses and kept up with their mother obediently. Roxanne took them on a long walk, and the children noticed that there was a lighthouse and a long deck when they arrived.
The majestic blue lighthouse towered over the long, white deck, set against the backdrop of crystal-clear, turquoise waters. The windmill nearby turned slowly and gracefully with the rhythm of the tides, creating a picturesque scene that seemed to belong in a fairy tale.
The kids were in awe. This is totally different from the beach that we’ve been to! “Go ahead and enjoy!”
Roxanne was elated to see her children liking the beach. The three children finally snapped out of their awe at Roxanne’s words. Estella was the first to scamper toward the sea. “Archie, Benny, come on!”
Archie and Benny followed behind her. “Run, Essie! We’re going to catch you!” The three of them chased each other on the deck.
Roxanne leaned against the railing, watching. her kids play happily. She couldn’t help but take out her phone to photograph them. She had missed out on a lot of Estella’s growth.
She had never seen Estella babble as she learned to talk, nor had she ever seen her stumble as she learned to walk. However, Roxanne was still grateful that she had shown up when Estella needed her the most.
She was grateful that she had reached out to help Estella and had not resisted the little girl’s emotional dependence on her. If Estella’s autism had persisted until now, Roxanne would be overwhelmed with feelings of self-blame.
Naturally, Roxanne was more concerned about Estella. Even though the camera was aimed at the three children, Estella was in every single one of the photos that she had taken.
From now on, she vowed to never miss out on a single moment of Estella’s life anymore.
Tired from running around, the three children went back to Roxanne when they noticed that she was still standing in the same spot, taking photos of them. “Mommy, what are you looking at?”
The three of them huddled to her side and clutched a corner of her shirt. They tiptoed to get a glimpse of Roxanne’s phone screen. Roxanne smiled and crouched down to show them the photos that she had taken.
“There are so many photos of Essie!” Benny puffed his cheeks in mock displeasure. “Mommy, are you favoring Essie now? It’s so obvious!”
Roxanne was stumped. She had only wanted to record their happy moments and didn’t notice who she was photographing. However, after skimming through the photos, she realized that there were indeed a lot of Estella’s photos.
