The Coast of Nosara

The waves of the Nasoro coast came crashing into the beach. The last shades of pastels from the early sunshine were slipping away with every backwash from the waves. Surfers trotted past the groups of yoga classes kicking up the sand before searching for the perfect wave. The last roars of the howler monkeys screeched across the jungle canopy and the breeze gently crept to the beautiful adobe terrace overlooking the beach. Marisol sat scanning each step the surfers took, each stretch of the yoga class, and every crash of the waves, focusing on one surfer starting to head out to tide. 

He paddled out past the break, each arm seemingly paddling at a different rate. Is he injured? Why does he insist on continuing like that? The paddles stopped. And now what? That wave is going to crash down on him. The blond, long-haired surfer turned his head staring up at the sky, while she waited. The man sat up calmly on the board and tipped the nose of the board up watching as the swell passed by and began building momentum closer to the coast. Her eyes sharpened, and a growing sense of shame had turned to disappointment.

A deep sigh curled out of her lips and her neck tightened and her jaw clamped down grinding her teeth. Her olive green camisole blew with the morning breeze as her hand lifted to her cheek as her eyes turned to the emerging bright blue sky. Is this the paradise I had thought I always wanted? Like a coin had been flipped in her head to land on a scale. A full week had gone by here. And the gates at the door. Everything is so secure. What lies beyond those gates? 

Her mind drifted to the dry mountains of Colorado as if her eyes were at the top of a peak surrounded by pines and aspens. Desert to one side, dark timber to the other, set above the long rolling plains listening to the coyotes yelp and watching the wild horses run. A loud thunder and storm clouds moving in rapidly. A fire in the distance and a small shadow climbing the mountain, looking directly at her.  The peering eyes of the shadow grew closer and closer and she yelled as she jumped off the cliff. Everything went dark. The cold encumbered her body. All around was nothing but shadow. Out of nowhere the pressure began to fade. The cold was scurrying away. An ember lit in the distance. Her head emerged from the rapids as their strength faded. Her head turned down as the river drained. Her wet hair was dry then her whole body and then the whole river had faded. Even the wet mud below her feet turned to sand. Her eyes widened and the goosebumps crawled across her spine. 

“AVOCADO TOAST!?” A slimy, high-pitched voice asked.

The sand became the adobe terrace floor once more. The bright blue sky penetrated her eyes and Ansel stood behind her with a plate in each hand, smiling from ear to ear.

“Ah,” Marisol caught herself mid-scream as her cold wet hair turned to dry… “Ansel, you scared me.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to, I wanted to bring you breakfast. This one has microgreens.”

“Oh thank you. I didn’t realize you had finished the yoga class already.”

“Yeah, we finished an hour ago, but I stayed with the teacher for a while.”

“Tell me something, Ansel.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

“Oh well geez I don’t know I’m sorry. Uhm... Mmmm. You look so beautiful today.”

“Huh. Good try. I’ll help you. Something interesting, something I don’t know.”

“Well uh my yoga teacher… She was...”

“You want to know what I was thinking?”

“Always Mari.”

“Well I have been sitting here for six days now, drinking mimosas and spritzes with this gorgeous beach. Far be it from me to refuse a pleasure without my seeking it. The sounds of the waves, the wellness retreat but has this been what you always dreamed of Ansel? Nothing left to do but drink our lives away and get sunburnt on the beach? Hm?”

“Honestly, yes, this is the life everyone dreams of, don’t you think?”

“Don’t you find that a bit childish? Do you have the same dreams as everyone?”

“Childish? Look around Mari… I mean we are waking up whenever we want to. I just finished my 30th day in a row of yoga. Later we could drink mai tais and go surfing or swim in the waves… I mean hell even the water here is the perfect temperature.”

“Boring.”

“Boring?”

“Why don’t we go to the island and see Limon City? Or journey to the Arenal Volcano? I mean is this all there is to it?” 

“What? Mari what are you saying?”

Her long black hair and caramel-toned skin turned away from Ansel, back to the beach. “Why should I care about the temperature of the water? Or your yoga streak? What is it that you’re hiding from me?”

“Wha… What?”

“This morning I was watching a surfer while you were out with your girlies. Funny isn’t it? I saw this man paddling out from shore ready to surf these ever so magnificent waves here. He seemed to be in such a hurry, running right by your yoga class in fact. Then as he got out there he had this great wave coming in and you know what he did. Just pulled his board back to ride the wave and was staring up at the skies. Why do you think he would do that?” Her eyes seemingly followed those of the surfer up to the skies before Ansel responded.

“Well I suppose it would be the magnificence of it. Unable to handle the pleasantries of such a place as this. A thought that a poor man might have.”

“Ah a clear-cut problem of someone from the wrong class being in the wrong place, huh?”

“Well, yes, I suppose what more could it be my dear Mari?”

“A dream.”

“A dream, exactly as I said before! We are living it! Smell the ocean my love, here we are.”

Her striking frosty blue eyes tightened on Ansel before rolling to the back of her skull, while Ansel’s big smile must’ve caused momentary blindness. Her lips stayed shut and the only sound was that of the waves crashing onto the shore. 

“I mean it is splendid isn’t it? Everyone already talks about how great of a couple we are. Can you imagine what they will say when we get back from this trip? I’ve already been getting so many likes on my Instagram photos.”

Mari stayed quiet, pulled out her phone from her camisole and looked down without a note of attention to what was being said. “Very good then, I’ll make us some margaritas and we can head down to the beach. I already have two spots reserved in one of the cabanas for us.” Ansel added.

She whipped her hair back and full and put on the most charming of smiles. “Forgive me, Ansel, it’s just I’ve been hearing so much about these celebrities who get cheated on by their significant other’s trainer… And well I guess I had been feeling a bit jealous because of that.” She got up from her seat on the terrace. “Oh my… My sweet Mari.” His eyes softened as he rushed towards her already preparing to give her a kiss on the cheek. “I am so sorry you have felt in such a manner.” Now giving her a peck on the cheek. Her eyes rolled and she began to laugh hysterically. “No… No, it’s fine, really.” As her bright blues came back to life. 

“Thank you for everything, and the margarita. Would you leave it on the counter and I will change and meet you down by the cabana in just a few minutes.” Ansel took a step back and looked at Marisol’s stunning stature from floor to ceiling; her smile was always enough to bring all the joy in the world back to his frightening ideas of the world.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Marisol nodded in agreement, still laughing. 

“Give me a kiss and I will see you in five minutes?”

Marisol leaned in for one more peck on the cheek. “Ahorita,” she smirked.

“Very well then, my love, I will be waiting for you with the massage therapists ready to go then.”

Marisol winked as Ansel smiled and trotted his way back down toward the beach. She bolted. In a second she was in the room and threw her elegant olive green camisole to the floor while reaching for the room’s service phone.

“Front desk?”

“Why yes, Ms. Arroyo, what can we do for you today? Everything alright with your room?”

“Yes, it’s just that something urgent came up. I need a car to the airport as soon as possible.”

“Let me take a look… hmmm Yes it seems our next shuttle is leaving in five minutes.”

“I’ll be there, thank you.” Marisol hung up the phone as she was already putting on her bra and panties and running for the adobe closet. She found her finest sky blue fitted midi dress and just about hopped into it. Making her final adjustments she looked in the floor to ceiling mirror. Her body let out a deep sigh as she reached for the margarita and chugged the previously untouched drink. Grabbing her pointed toe flats she left the door open running towards the reception.

“Ms. Arroyo, everything is prepared, and the shuttle will be leaving in one minute.”

Marisol searched for any breath she could find. “Muchas gracias, Isabella.”

She panted and reached down to slide on her flats, stood up straight and strutted towards the airport shuttle service taking her phone out from her bra to see the only notification being her flight from Nasoro to the San Jose airport then Denver International, no other messages appeared. She put her phone in airplane mode and got into the shuttle. “¡Buenos días!” Her eyes drift out the window and up to the only cloud in the sky and her shoulders drop.