the sun bears down on everything and everyone on the beach. a group of damp clouds press heroically against the horizon. we didn’t encounter any sign to warn us prudes, but two men are exercising their clothing optional option near the water. they are of age where no part of their torso should be left unclothed.
surprise is such an integral part of any aesthetic enterprise. say, you’re reading this indian watercolor painting of a siege by the mughal imperial horde on this recalcitrant town, and then you scan this barely more than five by seven inch miniature and you suddenly notice in the lower left side of the painting a pair of hares. one looks toward the ostensible action of the painting, the other admires its reflection on the pond, a narcissus among leporids.
we walk towards the flimsy stand of trees meters away from the water, stepping on ruts in the sand made earlier by one of these all terrain vehicles, while the clouds cast their shadows, like an apology, over the nude couple.