Catching the wave
I groaned slowly, lifting my head from the pillow and smiled slightly at the sound of my alarm clock, David's gorgeus voice soothing me and putting me in a good mood which would, most likely, last all day. I rolled onto my front, turning my left at glancing at my alarm clock which read 4:30 am, I then looked past it and through the window. I never closed the curtains, and frowned, it was still dark out but it was getting lighter. I put on a pair of white shorts, a tank top, and a white bandeau before I left the bedroom. I jogged downstairs, through the kitchen and out the backdoor into the back garden. I walked down the path and opened the shed door, smiling happily as I entered, seeing my favorite surfboard. “Mike? Is that you?” I heard my mother's voice as she made her way down the garden path. “Obviously,” I replied, rolling my eyes playfully as she entered the shed. “Alright, lose the tone,” She warned with a playful grin, leaning against the doorframe. “You're just like your father,” She said with a soft sigh. “You're getting up ungodly hours of the morning just to go surfing, how passionate you're about it..you're so alike,” She finished as I continued to wax my board. I just looked and smiled at her as I tucked my board under my shoulder. “I love you mom but it's getting lighter and I really don't wanna miss it,” I told her rushing out and up the garden. “Miss what?!” She asked calling after I left. “The sunrise,” I called back in reply. I then made my way towards the ocean. The waves were coming so strong, but I had to make a decision now.
First came the sand, smouldering and getting hotter under the sun. It looked soft and welcoming. Hopping from one foot to the other, seeking sanctuary in each patch of shade, I skipped down to the shore, to bury my burning toes in the ice-blue waters. The first lap of the foam brings relief. The cold pierced my skin and numbed my feet. I shivered. I was desperate to leave the like heat of the sand, but now I lingered at the edge, my toes creating eddies in the foam. The waves kept coming and going, digging my feet deeper into the sand. Once in the water, I ran into my buddy Ryan, and we spoke briefly about how clear and beautiful the water was. We didn't expect huge waves. He joined me and both of us were ready to catch some waves.
The sun glinted off a wave and I think I know what to do. On I plunged each step surer than the last. I was no longer afraid of the cold, in fact I relished the spray like shards of ice on the skin, the tug of the current on the legs, the cold creeping from calves, to my knees, to the thighs. Perhaps I wavered for a moment as the water reached the waist, but then I saw the wave. It was rising, growing, raising itself above my head, about to break. “Never show the waves you’re frightened”, my father’s voice echoes in the head. Jumping into the blue wall and out the other side, ears singing with the cold, a jubilant beat in the heart, water poured from hair and face.
It was time to wait again. Perhaps time went by, but it followed a different rhythm, the steady tick, tock of land replaced by the swish of the sea, the wind in face and the burning sun on the back. Then I felt it coming. The pull beneath the surface tugged at legs before I saw its crest high above the other waves. This was the one. Excitement started rising in my throat, forcing myself to be calm, to focus, to listen to its rhythm as it rushed towards me. “Keep still, wait for the right moment, let the wave take you, guide you…go go go!”
I gave a push and I'm up! I was standing, soaring, gliding above the wave, a king of the seas, white servants pushing and rushing down to the shore in a glorious gasp of spray and foam. I jumped off. The next wave creeped up without a sound, rising high above my head, the foam jumping with glee at having caught my unawares, the current elatedly slamming into the ground.
All of a sudden the waves started becoming more massive. As I paddled I kept getting pushed back by the waves. A giant wave was coming and finally picked me up. In that moment I could hear people screaming. I couldn't see what was happening. My board flipped over and I slammed into the water. I swam up from the water and looked around to see what's happening. I heard a group of people yelling “get out of the water, now!” I got my board and laid on it as I paddled towards the shore.
When I saw a fin sticking out of the water, my heart stopped. My legs felt numb and I lost control over my body. My heart began to pump out of my chest and I paddled faster and faster. A bump knocked me off the surfing board and into the cold water. I saw the scary shark came at me and I splashed around under the water, trying to shoo it away. It looked big and grey with a white belly and it looked like it didn't have any eyes. It swam faster and fiercely grabbed my thigh. I screamed so loud under water and my vision started turning red.
It seemed like the water had something diving in, over and over. I kept punching the shark then got the idea to shove my fingers into its eye sockets. It shook me far around like a rag-doll then I quickly took my thumbs and pushed them into the holes, the shark bit down harder on my leg then let go and floated to the top with me in its mouth. I gasped for air when I felt the air on my face and then let out a high pitched scream. Someone came over and helped me get released from the jaws. I got one last look of the shark and then saw a bullet between its eyes.
I was feeling weak, I couldn't see anything in front of me anymore. Everything looked dark and my body started to shiver. I was put down carefully on the sand surrounded by the voice of my friend telling me that everything is going to be fine. I heard another unfamiliar voice too, when I looked closer I saw a police badge on his shirt. My leg was gushing blood and I could feel it. Ryan ripped off his white shirt and tied it powerfully around my bloody leg. It was on tightly so I wouldn't lose more blood. It didn't take long for the white shirt to become fully red. The bleeding was unstoppable.
An ambulance sirens came within minutes and I was rushed into the van. I didn't want my mom to find out what happened, I knew she would freak out. But when we got to the hospital, there she was. She stood in the hallway with her arms crossed and her face covered in tears. She ran towards the bed I was lying on and kissed me on my forehead. She tightly held my hand, smiled and said “ I know you are strong just like your father.” A tear dropped on my pale cheek as they took me to the surgical room.