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The water of the Gulf stretched out before her, gleahts of the sun The voice of the sea is seductive, never

ceasing, whispering, cla the soul to wander

in abysses of solitude All along the white beach, up and down, there

was no living thing in sight A bird with a broken as beating

the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the

water

Edna had found her old bathing suit still hanging, faded, upon its

accusto in the bath-house But when she

was there beside the sea, absolutely alone, she cast the unpleasant,

pricking garments from her, and for the first time in her life she stood

naked in the open air, at the mercy of the sun, the breeze that beat

upon her, and the waves that invited her

How strange and awful it seemed to stand naked under the sky! how

delicious! She felt like so its eyes in a

familiar world that it had never known

The foamy wavelets curled up to her white feet, and coiled like serpents

about her ankles She walked out The water was chill, but she walked

on The water was deep, but she lifted her white body and reached

out with a long, sweeping stroke The touch of the sea is sensuous,