Mitch sat there, staring out at the ocean from underneath the pier, something he has done many times before. Yet this time he could not shake there being eyes on him. Sure the beach around him gets its share of people. It is a very popular area of the beach with locals and tourists alike. But this feeling was different from feelings in the past. Sure people would look around and see him, as he seemed so out of place, but as he looked around he could not help but wonder why this time felt different. He certainly should not care what others might think of him. He knew he did not fit in, not just at the beach, but anywhere. He had felt that way pretty much all of his life.
He soon locked eyes with a young girl, who when she realized he saw her, began waving. At first he was taken back by this young girl, who could not have been more than 8 or 9, but there she was waving in his direction. Was she confused? Was she perhaps waving at someone else nearby? He quickly scanned the area but nothing made sense. No one was waving back. No one seemed to even notice this young girl waving. He glanced back where she was, gave a simple smile and waved back. You would have thought he had just given her the world. She smiled back, let out a little laugh and went back to what she was doing, building a sand castle. Sure it wasn’t like those sand castles built at the competition just the week prior with all the elaborate details, but it was hers. And she seemed content with what she had built.
He on the other hand, had come to the beach that day to do something she needed to know was coming. Something everyone on that beach needed to know was coming.
Afterwards, folks would describe him as an older gentleman who came seemingly everyday and just sat there under the pier and watched the ocean. But before we can see what he had come to the beach to do, let’s take a look at the life he had so we can better understand the choice he made that morning.