"If you could be anything, do anything, what would it be?"

​

The silence lingered for a few moments but it felt like a lifetime. Was it fear of being judged? Fear of knowing that once the words escaped, your nearest and dearest would know you weren't living the life you craved? 

​

"I think I'd want to try acting.. It sounds like it would be a lot of fun.."

Once the first confession touched the salt air, the rest of them flowed like wine. 

"I'd really love to sing."

"I would own a plant nursery."

"I think I'd focus on skincare and beauty."

Tales of what-ifs and if-we-coulds spilled until the bottle ran dry - secret dreams gracefully intertwining with the sea breeze. 

They spent the rest of the evening basking in the magic of the what-could-bes, dancing under the stars, and playing in the black waves. For just a second, they were kids again. They forgot what their lives had become and they wiped the slates clean. Plans were re-written in the sand and sealed with drunk toasts. 

They had arrived as strangers. Not to each other, but to themselves. 

And when the weekend was over, they left as different people.​

They left as a plantswoman

a singer

an aesthetician

and an actress