The colossal wave is charging closer, below the gloomy moonlight, it’s too strong, too powerful. I lose my balance above the surfboard... SPLASH!
Quickly, I attempt to gather my scattered thoughts. My sight is blurry and my eyes are stinging. My body stings like a thousand daggers stabbing me from the ice-cold water surrounding me. I could feel the oceans current pushing me around, the ocean is trying to drown me. Fear and shock took over my mind, waving my arms and hands to try and find my surfboard; I think to myself:
“Where is my surfboard?”
“I can’t breathe!”
“I need hel-”
I see something lurking in the cold, dark blue surroundings. I notice the lighthouse light shining round and round, it comes over me every couple of seconds. It’s dark, it’s blurry; every few moments, the light would pass and I would get a better glimpse within the shiny gold light. The shadow is stalking closer to me, as it gets closer, it gets bigger.
I can make out the shadow’s eyes, they’re dark, the predator’s dorsal fin stood tall and strong, I could eerily make out an abnormally enormous mouth. The creature’s white, blood-curdling, pointy teeth are on display as it wanders towards me, slowly moving its tail side to side as it lingers closer. Its body is light grey, but its belly is as pure white as the moonlight above.
All of a sudden, I can breathe. The aggressive waves are still too powerful and yet, haltingly calming down. I’m panicking, I need to breathe yet see what’s lurking underneath. A gigantic wave is coming closer at an unnerving, speedy rate. As it got closer and closer, I take a deep breath. It hit me again and I found myself back in the blurry, empty, dark blue.
It’s gone.
“Where did it go?” I think to myself. As I turn around and glance everywhere for the shadow. “Did the ocean currents push me away?”
I stop looking, as I stare at this dark anomaly, emerging and growing. It’s the spine-chilling beast. It’s moving faster than before, this time its blood-thirsty mouth is open, ready to strike, as its tail thrashes side to side. But then… Abruptly, it stops in front of me. I’m sure I am prey as the predator glares it’s black, gloomy eyes into mine, I stare back into the eyes of the creature that is more than double the size of me.
My thoughts shift and change. Surely it would’ve slaughtered me by now? In the spur-of-the-moment, it’s like the predator is communicating to me. I feel my nerves calming and my thoughts returning to sedative-state.
“Help me,” It’s as if the once-shadowed creature planted a message, a mysterious high-pitched, female and calm voice, into my mind. Wait… I.. it can’t be, but it is… A hook! A fishing hook is penetrating the predator’s mouth and curving into its jaw on the right side. Is the beast asking me for help? Could it be… is it really asking me to remove the hook from its daunting mouth… or is it all a trick…? Will the large mouth and sharp teeth cling onto me if I enter my hand inside its mouth?
“Is the voice really from the creature or is it my mind playing tricks on me from the fear and being disoriented from the event?” I think to myself as the predator continues to glare into my soul.
Suddenly, I no longer feel as much fear of the creature as I did just seconds ago.
“Why?” As I cautiously, insert my hand into the predator’s mouth. I grope the hook, pull it out the mouth of the beast and yank my hand out as fast as I could with the hook. It shook its head, left, right, left, right, fast as it shoots away into the dark blue. Finally, the ocean pushes me to the surface again, able to take precious breaths again as a bright, shooting star passes over me. I start to feel my head spin.
“Please! Help me,” I shout into the black atmosphere as it sparkles with shining stars that light up the black sky. The light from the lighthouse stops on me as it shines in my direction, not moving, lighting me up, as if they see me. Waves got smaller and calmer as the full moon looks down at me. I hear an engine start in the distance, then, the ocean buries me beneath the surface once again. To my surprise, the creature is there again.
Slowly moving beneath as it inhabits the vast, dark blue sea. It’s turning towards me again. I reach out my hand as it’s passing me to touch its rubbery, grey skin. I stroke my hand over the predators back and dorsal fin to realise… this creature isn’t a monster nor killing machine, but a beautiful, gentle and misunderstood animal that needed my help.
“Thank you,” The same voice returns to my mind. By some miracle, above me, I can faintly see an outline and a hook from the bottom of a surfboard. I look back to see the magnificent animal once more but all I can see is a blurry dark shadow getting smaller and smaller in the distance and my head returning to normal.
I feel myself rise to the surface as the oceans current calms down significantly. As I grab on to my surfboard and hold on to stay afloat, I see a light drawing closer and brighter. It’s a boat. Just a metre or two away is the light from the lighthouse where the light from the boat seems to be focusing. I wave, I scream, I splash. Finally, I see a man on board, his huge glasses made his eyes magnified almost three times as big and his hair is curly and dark brown. He looks young and well-dressed, even at this time of the night, he looks well presented. Though he isn’t acting like it, he seems to be panicking more than I have been, pacing around the boat seemingly looking for something. He sounds to be muttering and nodding his head side to side. As the boat gets closer to me, the more I notice. Oh, and it looks like he’s found what he has been looking for: a big, red ring with white strips around it that’s attached to a rope which is hooked onto the boat. He’s waving back at me, finally. A wave of relief and happiness took over my emotions. I thought it was the end. The magnified-eyed man threw the ring into the sea in my direction. I hold onto my treasured surfboard as I clench my hand around part of the ring. As the man smiles and pulls me towards the boat, I think to myself again.
“What happened today?”
“Was it a miracle?”
“Was it the shooting star?”
“Did the grey and white creature send them a message to save me?”
“Was it simply by chance?”
Whatever happened today, there’s one thing I have learnt from this mysterious, yet unforgettable experience today is that as terrifying as something seems; when you get a closer look, it could end up being the most beautiful thing you’ve encountered.
Do you believe in miracles?
The end.
‘’On a dark, eerie night, a surfer takes his chances surfing on the dark blue sea as the moon shines bright at him, as if... a warning. His great experience and confidence in surfing works against him; he thinks he can beat the aggressive night waves below the black sky. But aggressive waves aren't all he will encounter on this gloomy night: an unforgettable experience will happen that will change his view on life forever.
Do you believe in miracles?’’
‘’Fallen Surfer’’ written by Ellie Davies.
Cover image provided by RamonCarretero/shutterstock.com,
Blurb image provided by SciePro/shutterstock.com
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