We're siggin on the cold shore combing the sand around us looking for sea glass. It's windy, and the cool mist coming off the waves feels cold and charming. We're bundled up in all our layers, and he gently touches my face and kisses my lips. His blue-green eyes stare deep into mine, and I feel him looking straight into my heart.

The brilliant rays of purple, gold and turquoise start to fade as the sun finishes setting. We stand up, wipe the sand off our pants and start walking to the parking lot. I take a deep breath and smell the salt and seaweed crawling in with the tide.

On our way home, he holds my hand, and we laugh and talk about nothing of real significance. We walk slowly to savor the moment, to savor the time we have together. The trees seem to make a tunnel, surrounding us and isolating us in our own little world.

When we get back to my house, we take the sea glass and put it in my jar. "It's almost halfway filled," he remarks, as I look at the tiny pieces filling the jar. There must be at least a hundred pieces in there, all of them different shapes and different colors. I suppose that if I counted them, there would be just as many as the days we have spent together, and the nights we have comforted each other on the phone.

Each piece of glass is a different color. I decide that they represent the ordinary days filled with insight and love. They are the most frequent ones, the everyday ones. I notice that I put in a green one today. It is a day like today that we shared together that the green ones reprresent. The green ones frosted with white specks represent the days in which one of us was upset and confided in the other. Although there are only a few, there are some and they're big. I think those are the ones that help the relationship grow the most. The white pieces are the biggest and the shiniest. They reflect the tim eone of us accomplished something or was really happy about something. One might represent him winning his car, another might be when I made the team, and yet there are so many I can't remember what each one represents. There are so few dark-brown ones. Those have the sharpest edges and cut your fingertips when you touch them. They cause tears and hurt. They're the ex-girlfriends, the not-too-long-ago crushes, the jealousy, the fights. They are the painful parts of our relationship that will never go away, but have become smoother over time.

There is one brilliant bluish-purple piece of glass. It is very smal, and I know exactly what it represents. It is the first time he said those three words that before that night were just tossed around and used carelessly by other guys. It represents the time when he looked deep into my eyes, brushed back my hair, and told me he loved me.

All of the pieces of sea glass are strong. No matter how hard you try(and people have tried), they won't break. They may get smoother, maybe a little smaller, but so do all memories. They are strong and will always be there and will never be lost.

Then, there's a big rock, a big pink rock, in the shape of a heart, down at the bottom. Its shape represents exactly what it is. It's our hearts, with all the sea glass and memories and good times to come piled on top. Our small, pink hearts, learning about each other and ourselves, piling little green days on top of big white ones, avoiding the sharp brown ones and trying to find another blue one. It's our hearts, the ones that have grown to love each other. The ones that have spent over two years piling memories on top, good and bad, to make two different, wonderful people. The glass jar will never break. The jar is our bodies that protect our hearts and memories. Like the sea glass, it is strong and even if one of us goes away, it will still be there with all the memories left behind.

- Stacy Doerner