It was a wonderful day! Although, when you live in Los Angeles, California, every day is just wonderful. Walking along the Pacific coast from Santa Monica to Venice Beach, I thought about how huge and beautiful this ocean is; how deep, mysterious, and cold. And my soul sang just from the opportunity to be near it, to breathe in its vapors, and to give it my love. I walked, stepping on the cold waves, and happiness walked beside me...
It was already about five in the evening, the heat had subsided, and a pleasant breeze was blowing. Or maybe it was the breath of giant whales plowing the ocean waters far on the horizon. I stepped onto the pedestrian path; smiling cyclists on wheeled contraptions of all imaginable and unimaginable designs were rushing by. An atmosphere of anticipation for a damn pleasant evening reigned all around. The air smelled of celebration and carelessness, as it usually does in all resort towns in the summer. My path smoothly turned into a street of souvenirs and small shops. There was everything here! I never ceased to be amazed at how inventive and resourceful the residents of LA are in terms of ways to make money. A girl from Ukraine was selling her paintings, a black guy had sculpted a large dinosaur out of sand and was asking tourists for money for the opportunity to take a picture with it, an Asian gentleman was offering to write my name on a grain of rice for $10. Someone even dragged a piano there so that people could enjoy the music of the great instrument performed by a local virtuoso, of course, sharing a couple of dollars with him.
Reaching the pier, I turned back toward the ocean. This was the main pier of Venice Beach, a favorite place for fishermen and romantics. It stretched 150 meters into the ocean, and if you walked to the end and didn't look back, it seemed that you were already in the open ocean enjoying freedom and silence. I loved watching the surfers from here, who were colorful in their bright trunks, riding the humped waves.
The sun was already approaching the horizon. So it was high time to head back; I still had a one-and-a-half-hour bus ride home ahead of me. I walked slowly along the beach to enjoy the evening ocean once more. From afar, a strange noise of uncertain origin began to reach me. I didn't pay much attention to it, but it began to intensify as I walked. And finally, I saw the source of this noise – a large crowd of people right on the beach. What is it – a war, a fight, a revolution? Getting closer, I realized that it was not noise at all, but music. The music of a hundred drums, tom-toms, tambourines, and many other instruments, beating one rhythm. And that was when I realized that I wouldn't be home anytime soon...
My feet brought me to this crowd on their own. I walked closer and closer and felt the ground shaking under my feet in time with the music. Dancing... Faces flashed before me, all joyful and happy. I saw people with huge drums, with smaller drums, with tambourines, triangles, and other devices from which all sorts of sounds could be extracted. They all sat in a circle, indulging in music, and in the center, crazy people were dancing. Crazy, of course, not in the literal sense of the word. But so happy, carefree, and wild that an observer passing by could well take them for crazy. It was a real celebration of life, and no one was superfluous at it. I couldn't stand and just watch all this for long. I had a passion to dance, my feet brought me to the center of the circle on their own. And that's it! From that minute on, my consciousness turned off, and I completely surrendered to the power of the dance. It was as if a beautiful and mighty Dance God had possessed me, forcing me to flutter, jump, spin... My feet performed intricate steps, my hands rose to the sky, tangled in my hair... Faces, smiles, beads and bracelets, drums, cameras flashed before my eyes. The music reached the most secret corners of the soul and turned everything upside down there, creating a beautiful mess and creating divine chaos. When the sun touched the horizon, this action acquired a certain magical-witchy coloring. The sky lit up with a bright red light, and shadows crawled along the ground. The night was preparing to take possession and swallow everything around. But the celebration didn't even think about stopping; hundreds of bare feet continued to dance on the already cold sand. Several people lit torches, the fire rose above people's heads. It feels like I'm attending an ancient shamanic ritual.
From the continuous dancing, I get hot, and I run to take a dip in the cold waters of the ocean. A huge wave covers me, its icy moisture gives me new strength, and I run back to the circle faster to spend it. I forgot about everything in the world then: about the bus that doesn't run after ten, about the fact that I have to get up early tomorrow, about the fact that friends are waiting for me at home and are worried. But all this was not important, because I was truly happy then.
Later I learned that this event is called a Drum Circle and has been happening every Saturday at Venice Beach for 40 years in a row! It is not organized by anyone, people with drums just come and throw a party for themselves and others. And I am grateful to fate that I had the chance to become a part of this celebration.
When it got completely dark, people lit several bonfires, and we were already dancing around them. I just wanted it to last all night! But, unfortunately, all the best things end before you have time to enjoy them enough. In the noise of the drums, the wail of police sirens was heard. Several cars with flashing lights drove right onto the beach. It turns out that this is how the Drum Circle ends every week, because people are simply unable to stop and disperse on their own. So I, frustrated by such an unexpected end to the celebration, wandered along the shore toward the bus stop. My heart hadn't had time to calm down yet, and I listened to its strong, fast beats like the sound of drums a few minutes ago. Soon I will be home, in a cozy apartment with my friends. A hot dinner and warm friendly conversations before bedtime await me. But these delightful moments of today will not leave my head for a long time. And, what I know for sure, today I will fall asleep happy...
