At the beach this year I went swimming at night. It was about 9 O'clock and the water was so black except for the edge of foam where the waves lapped against the shore. We went swimming because the phosphorescence was in the water. These are tiny algae that glow when you move in the water.
I floated there in the black with one of the cousins, looking up at the far lights of the stars, and the nearer lights of the welcoming houses on the beach. It was an experience that brought me into an acute awareness of my body as well as a wish to use every part of it. With each swish under the water my skin was alight with a ghostly blue shimmer. My legs kicked and the colour flowed down my leg and off my toes. My fingers twinkled like I was making magic.
Just a few weeks later Emma and I were in Windhoek. The air there was very dry. Each night at about 3am the air chilled. When I moved a blanket over Emma her crib lit up with eerie blue sparks jumping off the blanket and rebounding around her.
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