Kavi grabbed his mother’s left hand while his sister took her right. Together they raced along the concrete promenade. The sinking sun turned Marina Beach into molten gold, and the sea flashed like a wide, shining road. Then a first line of lights flickered across the waves. Kavi stopped. “Look!”
Kavi pointed from one shimmer to the next. “One, two, three!” he called, counting before each light vanished. His sister counted backward from the far end, her voice skipping over the breeze. Their mother bent between them, smiling as the edge of her saffron scarf fluttered softly. Every wave seemed to hide another tiny lantern.
A sudden gust sent a newspaper skittering across the promenade. It flapped up and covered the children’s view. Kavi pinned one corner with his sandal while his sister caught another. Their mother folded the paper away, and the sea appeared again. Behind them, high-rise windows began glowing, one by one.
The newspaper lay safely beneath their mother’s arm. Still holding her hands, Kavi and his sister stretched toward the rail. A fishing boat moved far offshore, its lamp sliding over the water. One bright sparkle raced shoreward. Kavi gasped. Then he laughed as the “light” slipped away, and three pointing fingers chased it.
The sparkle slipped beyond the rail and disappeared. Kavi leaned forward, searching the ripples. His sister whispered, “It ran away.” Their mother pointed toward another small flash near the boat. Kavi lifted his finger again, ready for the chase. The promenade hummed with footsteps, waves, and the soft flap of the scarf.
Dusk deepened around the shore. Kavi settled between his mother and sister, their joined hands resting on the warm concrete rail. Beside the last orange streak in the sky, city lights shimmered across the water. Kavi watched the final spark fade, then whispered, “Tomorrow, we’ll count again.”
No one hurried home yet. The sister began a quiet count from the shore, and their mother answered from the boat lights. Kavi followed each glow with one careful finger. One, two, three. The waves rolled in, carrying the evening farther along the beach.
At last, the sea became a dark mirror. A few boat lamps trembled beside the bright city windows. Kavi’s hand stayed tucked between his mother’s and his sister’s. Together they watched the glowing water, counting slowly until the last visible sparkle vanished beyond the waves.