The Ocean is Deceiving

 AUTHORS NOTE:

        This one is a modified version of The Dream of Drifting Away.

The Ocean Is Deceiving

That afternoon, after lunch, the four of them went to visit the beach for the first time this trip. They parked the car and got out. She looked out at the horizon while her dad and brother unloaded the car. She started down the wooden steps until she got to the sand. As the wind howls and cries angrily through the trees. From where she was standing, she could only feel the wind on her skin. The rush of it as the gravity was simply fading away. Trying to lift her away, the wind tugged at her clothes and hair. She could almost let go of herself and drift out of existence. Stepping out of her shoes, her feet met the soft cushion beneath her. Almost scraping and cutting her feet as the tiny sharp objects in the soft mixture rubbed against her feet with each step. 

The rigid cloud under her smoothed out as she walked toward the creator of the endless substance. As the cold body of wetness breathed in and out, making the sound that a young mother makes when trying to calm and quiet a newborn baby, it kissed her toes so effortlessly. It was impossible to resist it. The salting, smelling body inhaled once more; calling to her to pull her into the vast forever. Slowly, one foot at a time, she waded into the water. The sensation so alluring. Her warm body turned cold as the water washed over her calves, then her thighs. As the waves crash against the now far away shore, the hushing quiets her. She is unable to scream, to yell, to breathe. Her arms flailed back and forth; like a hummingbird stuck in slow-motion. Just then she feels the energy of the water rising and falling. Strength that was unnoticeable from the shore now lifted her up and laid her back down in a flowing motion. It was both overwhelming and peaceful at the same time. Each wave she could feel the salty water inhale; Charging up the energy, then exhaling, letting the energy form a perfect wave. 

She could see her family carrying the chairs and bags out onto the hot sand. Her dad in front, carrying two large chairs and an umbrella, her mom behind him, carrying a beach bag and towels, and her brother, carrying the sunscreen and some more chairs. Her eyes scan slowly left down the beach. She sees children playing in the sand; making sandcastles. She sees their mothers and fathers chatting comfortably but also keeping a sharp eye on their little ones. She sees teen girls and boys holding hands, hugging, or something more intimate. Her eyes continue without stopping and staring. She spots a man with what looks like a long, round flotation. Short glances were all she could get with a new wave flowing past her every five seconds it seemed. The man moved farther away from the shore. Farther from her even. She saw him turn around and face the shore then. He looked as he was paddling back to where the water overlaps the sand, but before she could understand, he stood up on his feet as the wave pushed him forward. After watching the surfer stride around on the wave, making it look so easy, she treaded back to the hot sand where her parents and brother were. 

As she climbed the slant of the sand, the water stuck to her legs; not wanting her to leave just yet. She started walking to where her family was sitting. A noise makes her reflexes automatically tilt her eyes upward. A flock of seagulls were floating in the wind above her.  She watched as the swayed to the left and to the right. Mesmerized by the calming movements. Her spirit left her body and possessed the seagull. Feeling what the seagull felt instead of her own feelings.  Oscillating through the soft wind. The wind massaging each and every feather. It blows through the beak and out the nostrils. She was startled when two of the seagulls suddenly plunged to the sand right below her. Walking around the seagulls, she continued to where her parents set up their camp. After discussing it with her parents, she got some money and rented a boogie board; a smaller size of board compared to the surf board. The minute board reminded her of the sounds of monkeys in the trees, the sound of the dolphins swimming and jumping, and the sound of peacefulness in Costa Rica. The way her and her cousin bounced up and down, gliding back to shore with the waves pushing them. Laughing at all the wipeouts and successful rides. Cleaning the cuts and bruises that they got from the rocks in the water, or the sticks, or the sand, or the board itself. She took her scruffy board to where the sand met the water and stopped. Looking and listening to the waves and the people around her. Wondering if she was brave enough to take on the vast ocean. 

Paddling, she floated out on the waves; going up and down like on a rollercoaster. Once she turned around, after paddling for several minutes it felt, she realized how far away the shore was. Feeling frightened and exhilarated while she sat gazing at the yellow line in the distance. Looking back once more, she saw a wave starting to form. She started kicking and paddling as the wave picked her up and carried her almost all the way to the sand. A smooth successful ride. In a repetitive motion, she had three more perfect rides with the perfect waves. On the fifth try she put too much pressure on the front of the board. The nose of the board immediately dived under her, taking her body with it. Swallowed by the wave as it rushed over her, pushing her down under the water again. At the same time, the force of the wave hit her and knocked the oxygen out of her lungs, like being punched in the stomach. The board pulled her up while her hands clenched around the sides of it. She reached the surface and choked out water. Her nose started to burn and she remembered the water being pushed in her mouth, though her body, and out through her nose. When finally, her nose didn’t burn anymore, she stopped choking up water, and she caught her breath back, she slowly paddled back to the sturdy beach. She sat beside her family, explaining what happened, while she had a snack to cool off after the traumatic event. Giving up was not on her mind. She decided to give it one last go before they had to leave the beach that day. 

She started out after she finished her snack but didn’t go out as far as she did before. A smaller wave built up and she started paddling to catch it. As the wave pushed her faster behind, she felt a sharp stinging in her shin. It felt light but all over. A shocking sensation that sent her scrambling on her board desperately trying to get to the shore. She sat on the sand as her breath was speedily entering and leaving her body. Her leg was red and throbbing; still feeling the sting and tingling from just few seconds before. She understood, after she calmed down, that she had caught the tentacles of a jellyfish. Deep breaths calmed her body and finally she got up and walked back to her parents. As she walked, a though came into her brain; she wouldn’t go deep in the ocean ever again this trip to Galveston Island. Her luck was losing this time. She came to agree that bad luck would win and she would step back and give it the space it needed. She felt freed by it, because she will once conquer it; just not today.