120

I descended further, enough to keep well above people's heads while still being close enough to hear the chatter of hundreds of voices. I idly drifted by, wondering to myself how these people would react if they just looked up and saw me sailing like a kite overhead.

I heard a woman talking to a friend as they reclined on their towels. "I told him, 'I don't want to hear it. We're through.'"

I grinned, feeling a little mischievous eavesdropping on people.

"But dad," a little girl whined, "I wanna go in the water!"

"Not until I put your sunscreen on," her father replied.

I kept on going, slowly passing over a small group of elderly people as they headed along the sand toward the water.

"I got fed up with that shit!" one of the old men said. "I'm not going to pay for extra rent in that dump!"

Then, I came across a young couple starting to get a little frisky with each other. I was surprised enough by the sight to come to a complete stop. They were really starting to get into it. The young woman rolled atop her man, the two of them quietly laughing, kissing and looking around. My eyes widened when she suddenly took her top off, keeping her chest firmly pressed into his. I was obviously tempted to just sit there, float there and watch. Still, I didn't want the two to cause an awkward scene and get busted for having fun with each other. After all, they were fairly close to other people and families. Someone had to think of the children!

I hummed thoughtfully for a moment as I thought my options over. Once I came up with an idea, I grinned in amusement. Why not help them avoid a citation for indecent exposure and have some fun with my new invisibility power?

I came to a soft, silent landing in the sand next to them. They were still going at it while I looked at them. His hands were pretty firmly established on her butt. So, I took my own hand and gently raked it across her back. She shrieked in terror and quickly rolled onto her side.

"Something just touched my back!" she exclaimed. He looked around in confusion, seeing nothing there. I couldn't help but be a smart-ass and wave to him as he looked in my direction.

"Babe, it was probably just a seagull," her boyfriend replied with a really thick surfer drawl. He then pulled her in closer to him. "Come on, there's nobody around."

The two went right back to making out. My initial idea didn't work perfectly, but I was very persistent. I carefully knelt down and then put a hand on her shoulder. I pulled away and took to the air just as she reacted.

"Ahh!" she screamed and swatter at her shoulder. "Kevin, a hand seriously just grabbed my shoulder!" He looked at her in confusion while she quickly grabbed her top and tied it back on. "This is freaking me out. Let's just go back to your place, okay?"

He sighed in frustration. "All right, fine." I could only imagine he figured she was looking for excuses to back out.

I was so tempted to follow them back and watch them go all the way, but I couldn't bring myself to do that. Besides, I was far more interested in my new powers. So, I kept on hovering overhead along the beach for a short time just to soak everything up like I was some kind of low-flying helicopter.

A few moments later, I came across a little girl, no older than a toddler, playing with a beach ball that was bigger than her. It was adorable enough to make me smile watching her tote it around like a giant teddy bear. But the smile quickly faded when the ball fell from her hands and was carried by the wind down to the ocean. I then watched the little girl quickly chase after it and I panicked. I quickly flew over to the ball, which was drifting further and further into the water. Her little feet touched the water on the shore and kept on going. What the hell were her parents doing?

I grabbed the ball and pushed it as quickly as I could back to her before the water was high enough to consume her. Right as she grabbed the ball, I heard a few people cry out that a baby was in the water by herself. That prompted her parents to finally respond and quickly rush down to scoop her up. Her mother held the ball in one arm, her confused child in the other.

"Is she okay?" someone asked. I could only breathe a sigh of relief and ascend a bit higher into the air. I don't think anybody wanted to see that on the evening news. Although I couldn't see it, I felt my hands trembling for sure. I surprised myself at how much I cared. I'd actually gotten really scared for that little girl's well-being.

I let out one more big sigh of relief and smiled as I saw her parents starting to keep a closer eye on her. What do you know? A happy ending. That sense of fulfillment made me feel like a superhero right at that moment for sure. But then I decided to stop patting myself on the back and took off from the beach. I headed for home, feeling a little exhausted after using my new powers for a while. I had to give myself time to get used to it. For the moment, I just wanted to slip into bed and have a nice nap.

The next day, I was out flying again around the same time as yesterday. I was enjoying aimlessly wandering over the city for a little while. The simplistic eagle eye view I had was endlessly entertaining for me. Though I was scared of heights, I still admired the spectacle of being up high. The sense of freedom was beyond anything I could ever imagine. I could go anywhere, do anything. Climb the highest skyscraper? Walk the tight rope across the wall of a bridge? Fly alongside a seagull? I could do it all - and so much more. The possibilities of anything and everything I was capable of doing were just limitless.