บท 33: Playing by the Beach

After driving for a few more minutes, Neil Mo finally saw the beach in front of him and followed as per Edith's instruction to park under a shady tree. The three of them get off the vehicle and the sea breeze blew gently.

Neil started to scan the area and was momentarily stunned.

The sands were white and the beach was clean. Upon closer look, Neil began to see that that they were at a small bay. The sunlight reflected against the water, creating a dazzling glare. The seawater was sparkling.

Hazel Mo saw these scenes and was very excited that she could not help but to run forward. The little girl stopped just as she reached the water. The wave rolled to her feet and Hazel took a step back, with her eyes widened in surprise. Looking at her wet sandal, Hazel then turned around and ran to her teacher.

"What's the matter?" Edith raised a brow. "Are you scared of the seawater?"

Hazel hesitated. She was a bit scared when the wave rolled to her feet, but she did not want to admit it. What if her teacher did not want to play with her when she found out?

"You don't have to worry, the beach in this area isn't that deep. If you're still afraid, then stay close to me," Edith said. "I will be with you and make sure that you are safe."

Hazel's eyes brightened with joy and she nodded excitedly. "Teacher Qian, do you know how to swim?"

"Un," Edith nodded and laughed. She stretched her hand to touch Hazel's hair and spoke, "I grew up around here. Every day, after school, my friends and I would come to the beach and we would play in the water just before the sky turns dark. After a long time of practicing, I'm quite good at swimming."

Hazel shifted her gaze back at the seawater and wonder if she would be good at swimming after a lot of practice. Although her late mother had taken her to the swimming classes in the past, she was still not very good at it. The thought of being drowns scared her and Hazel was afraid of getting into water without a floater.

"What do you want to do? If you don't want to play in the water, we can just walk around or play with the sand," Edith suggested. She raised her head to look at the sky and a gentle sigh escaped. "The weather is so great. If we brought along some food and drinks, we can have a little picnic around."

"Teacher Qian, let's come here and have a picnic next time."

Edith looked at the little girl beside her and laughed. Looking at Hazel's big round eyes, she did not have the heart to say no to her. Although Edith was quite sure that there would not be another chance for her to come over to the beach with the little again, she did not hesitate to agree. "Alright. Sure. Let's come over again the next time."

Hazel Mo's smile widened upon hearing her teacher's words. The next time, when she comes again, she wanted to take her grandparents with her. She has to ask her grandmother to prepare some food so that they can have a picnic.

Those thoughts made Hazel very happy. She held her teacher's hand and pulled her towards the water. "Teacher Qian, let's just play by the water."

"Okay," Edith readily nodded before she led Hazel to the water again and the two of them were playing with waves. Soon, the hem of Hazel's dress was wet with seawater, but the little girl had ignored her wet dress and keep playing around.

Meanwhile, Neil Mo has been looking around the area ever since they arrived. Seeing that her niece had pulled her teacher to play, Neil took this chance to survey the area.

His eyes flashed brightly at the thought of the potential of what this place can be. He could almost imagine building a few villas around the location where his SUV was parked. Then they would have wonderful views of the small bay every day. The sunset would be so pretty to look at.

Neil Mo shifted his gaze towards the sun and paused as he saw the two girls playing by the water. Hazel was playing chase with waves and laughed happily as the waves crash to her feet.

Looking at the smile on the little girl's face, Neil was momentarily stunned. He could not remember when was the last time he had to see his niece laughing happily like this.

It seemed as if she had not laughed like this ever since her parents had passed away. Neil turned his gaze to the woman who was accompanying her niece and the conversation between him and his mother earlier today resurfaced in his mind.

His mother had told him that she wished for Hazel to spend more time with this teacher. Neil's gaze softened as he thought of how the kindergarten teacher had almost the same experience with Hazel. They both had lost their parents at an early age.

Neil and his parents often worry about how Hazel was going to grow up as she was very close to her parents. But as he continued to watch the kindergarten teacher, Neil had this thought that his niece, Hazel Mo was going to grow up just fine.

He hoped that this girl will continue to have the smile on her face and would continue to laugh freely just like she did at this moment.

Just as he was watching the two girls playing at the water, Neil saw that his niece had suddenly stopped and screamed.

Panicked, Neil ran towards the little girl with worry on his face. Although the two were playing where the water had only reached to Hazel's calf, there were a lot of other dangers.

What if Hazel had accidentally stepped on some sharp object like glasses and bleed? What if she was stung by jellyfish? A lot of scenarios appeared in his mind and Neil's face paled.

Neil went over to Hazel and knelt beside her. The water splashed around them as he gave her a proper look to check whether his niece was with an injury. "What's wrong? Are you injured?"

Hazel stared back at her uncle with a dazed expression. Then, she shifted her gaze towards the water and suddenly, there was a disappointment on her expression.

"Uncle! You scared those fishes away!"

"Huh?"

"There were a few small fishes around my legs just now. They were so tiny and cute!" Hazel spoke. "But once you come, they had swum away."

Neil turned his gaze towards the water and from where he stood, he saw a few tiny fishes swimming around. The water around the area was clear and therefore, he was able to see them.

"Did you scream because of the fishes?" Neil asked.

Hazel nodded. She suddenly realized at what was happening, and her big eyes were staring back at her uncle pitifully. "Sorry, uncle. Did I scare you?"

Neil put the girl back on the ground and let out a long sigh of relief. "It's fine. As long as you are alright."