Swim Lessons with Honu

Cody climbed onto his surfboard, paddled out past the break, and kept going. He watched the sun set over the water, and kept moving. Darkness settled in, but Cody kept paddling. When the stars came out to greet him, Cody sat up on his board. The ache in his right leg practically took his breath away. The pain meds he took earlier had worn off, along with the Jack Daniel’s. It didn’t matter. He wouldn’t last long anyway.

The water remained calm that far out from the shore. Tired to the bone, Cody laid down on the board and starred at the crescent moon. His mind wandered back to the last time he spoke to Andrea, he wanted so badly to tell her, but she cut him off.

“Get over yourself,” she said. “It’s always something. Your boss is a jerk. Your brother wants you out his condo if you can’t make the rent. Your truck needs new tires. I’m over it. I just can’t deal with your drama anymore.”

Cody hung up without sharing the results of the CT scan. He deserved this. Andrea had been bailing him out for months, ever since the pain kept him from showing up to work regularly. Climbing ladders and balancing on rooftops to install solar panels became increasingly more difficult. In the past few months, he had slipped at least dozen times when his leg went out. If his buddy Travis had not caught him, Cody would have gone down. Rolled right off that damn roof.

In the distance, Cody heard a boat speed by. The wake knocked him off his board, and the surfboard floated away in the darkness. “This is it.” He sank below the surface, not bothering to save himself. Not caring.

Cody’s life flashed before him: meeting Andrea at the law office where she worked, going on the surf trip to Indonesia with his brother Brad - his best friend in the world, moving from California to Oahu after graduation. He remembered his school days, winter vacations skiing at Lake Tahoe, Christmas with his family, his first dog - a Border Collie named Rufus.

Deeper and deeper, Cody drifted down, until THUMP. He landed on a hard mossy surface. Before he could register what happened, he was being rushed back up toward the surface. Cody pushed himself away, only to come face to face with a giant sea turtle - Honu in Hawaiian.

“Climb back on so I can take you to safety,” Honu snapped at him.

“Let me be,” said Cody.

“You’ll drown down there.”

“I’m aware.”

“Do you have a death wish, dude?”

“It’s more than a wish, Honu, I’m dying,” said Cody.

“We’re all dying,” said the turtle. “Your time is not over yet.”

“It’s coming soon,” said Cody. “I’ve got bone cancer. They want to cut off my leg.”

“That’s all? It’s just a leg. Let it go.”

“Shut up, Honu. Let it go? I can’t surf without my leg.”

“But you can swim. You can live, and you can love.”

“The woman I love doesn’t want me.”

“There are other women in the sea,” said the turtle.

“Without a leg? Be serious, Honu.”

The turtle flipped over, showing Cody a missing back flipper. “Yes, without a flipper. I still get around.”

“What happened to you?” asked Cody.

“A jet ski clipped me years ago. I struggled for a time to be sure, but I never gave up, and I never gave in to the fear or the pain or the hopelessness. Pull yourself together, dude. Climb onto my back, and I will deliver you to the shore.”

Cody paused, but eventually gave in and pulled himself onto the turtle. Honu carried him back to the shore just as dawn began to break. When the water was waist deep, Cody rolled off Honu’s back and steadied himself in the mild surf.

“Thank you for saving my life.”

“You saved yourself,” said Honu. “I merely cleared the algae from your eyes, which was blinding you from the path that you are meant to take. When our vision becomes clouded, we must wipe away the distraction and continue on the journey we have set for ourselves, whether we have one leg or two, three flippers or four. The adventure may not be an easy one, but it is your path nonetheless.”

Cody touched Honu’s front right flipper and nodded. Honu opened his eyes wide and appeared to fashion a smile as he turned around and headed back out to sea.

Cody limped through the water and onto the sand. In the distance, he could see his surfboard leaning against a palm tree. Brad and Andrea came running toward him. As Andrea threw her arms around him, Cody crumpled to the sand, unable to stand any longer.

“Were you out there all night?” asked Brad.

Cody shrugged.

“When you didn’t come home last night, I went to check your room and saw the medical report. I read the word ‘cancer,’ and freaked the hell out. What are we going to do? Have you told the parents?”

“Were you trying to kill yourself?” asked Andrea.

“The doctors want to take my leg. I didn’t see any options. How can I work, or surf, or even walk?”

“If that’s what it takes to live, you give up the leg, brochacho,” said Brad. “I’ve got your back.”

“I’ve got you too, babe,” said Andrea. “I didn’t mean what I said yesterday. I was just frustrated. When Brad came by looking for you and told me about the report, I wanted to die. Seriously, I can’t imagine my world without you.”

Brad reached out to Cody and pulled him up to a standing position. The brothers hugged each other, and Andrea joined them in their embrace.

“I’m not giving up on you,” said Brad.

“No worries, bro. I’m not giving up on myself either. As I learned last night, even if I can no longer surf, I can still swim.”