Beyond the pier

We ventured to a new part of the beach today, beyond the pier, where trendy new houses have been built (and for the inhabitants the sand is now raked every day). Standing at this point, having passed miles of sea to the right and with incoming waves making a small stretch of beach seem very small indeed, I had the sensation of being on an island, albeit surrounded by water on only three sides.

How believable it is that the world could be drowned if one day the seas decided it should be so.