I arrive at the beach with a large group, for some sort of festive occasion. We mill around in the evening at an on-beach bar, on the far right side of a cove community, and splash around in the shallow surf. I meant to go back to my hotel room and put on a swim suit, instead I end up soaked in my clothes, but I'm not worried about it because they are light and dry quickly. Everybody ends up playing in the waves.

Oddly, the surf line recedes way out away from the beach, and I remember that it does that before a tidal wave hits. I mention it to one person who is with me, and they concur, so we start making our way toward higher ground, perhaps following "tsunami escape route" signs. For some reason I feel like the suggestion is a little silly, so I don't alert anyone else. I don't remember the word "tsunami", so I say "tidal wave", which doesn't seem to come across with the same urgency.

We end up on a bluff overlooking the coastal community, just in time to see the wave wash in. It's daylight now, and the wave doesn't look terribly threatening, although it sweeps over the whole beach and everyone on it, licking the dunes and buildings at the edge.