Emotional Swells

1. Donnie was...

lost in the power and beauty of some unknown island where perfect waves came to rest on a white sand beach. He blinked once or twice as he came out of his dream. The voices of children outside, waiting for the school bus, dragged him from his personal paradise. He himself, had graduated the previous spring, and decided to wait tables at the nearby seafood place where the tips were as big as the waves on the north shore of Hawaii. He would use the money for a trip overseas to surf the magical waves of Ulu Watu, on the island of Bali, in Indonesia.

He wolfed down a breakfast burrito, and grabbed his surfboard and wetsuit. The sky was dark with clouds, but it was early, and he knew the sun would burn through in a couple of hours. He thought he might try the point this morning, or possibly Drake's Bay. He got into his Karmen Ghia and began the drive along the coast. The radio played the morning surf report, typical, two- to four-foot swells. He wondered what the conditions were like in Bali, and looked over at the sea. He thought he saw something. There it was again. There was someone surfing out at Mitchell's. Impossible. Why would anyone be out there, amongst the rocks, the shallows, the usual mush that it was famous for?

Donnie whipped a U-turn and parked alongside the cliffs. He watched as the lone rider picked decent waves. Wow, he thought, this person ventured to this spot on the best day ever. He put his wetsuit on, grabbed his board and headed down the dreaded switch-back path that led to the rocky coast. He was careful to stay off the stickers that lined the way. Finally, he reached the bottom, where there was a small strip of sand leading to the water.

He jogged into the sea and leaped over a small wave onto his board and proceeded to paddle out to the swells. As he approached the other surfer he could see they had rather long, yellow hair. He waved but the person did not wave back. Instead, they paddled into a crest and took off towards the rocks. Donnie watched as the tall blond headed rider moved up and down the wave with ease. He turned and began to swim hard for the next swell. The other surfer dove under the wave as Donnie passed by.

By the time he got back to the swell line, the tall blond had already taken another wave. He decided to sit and wait for the other rider to return to the lineup. He was curious who it was, and why they chose such a notoriously bad surf spot. Although, he thought, the waves were pretty good this morning. He waited for a few minutes, but did not see the other surfer. He sat up on his board and looked around. Not a soul could be seen. He suddenly felt alone. It was so quiet. He could hear seagulls and the waves crashing, but not a person in sight.

Suddenly, he heard a small splash. Donnie, somewhat frightened, quickly turned and saw it was a woman. A very beautiful woman with jade green eyes and rather Nordic features. "Morning," he said. He was recovering from being stunned, and wondered where she came from. She took off on the next swell and Donnie marveled at her abilities. He thought this is what Viking women who surf look like. She was paddling back out when he decided to impress her and took off on a big, mushy wave. As he passed her the wave crushed him into the sea and he just missed hitting a rock. By the time he recovered she was on a perfect swell coming at him. She maneuvered so smoothly, up and down the face, cutting back with the precision of a surgeon. She was good, and Donnie was impressed. He wondered where she came from, who she was, and did she have a boyfriend.

Each time he got close to her she managed to get away without saying a word. For 30 minutes they surfed together, yet apart. Donnie tried to say hello, but she just smiled as she swooped into another wave. At one point, they both maneuvered towards a nice peak and their hands touched. Donnie thought how strange it was that she felt warm, but wore no wetsuit. After all, it was late September, and the water temperature had dropped since summer. Donnie was dreaming of her warm touch when she swiftly paddled past him. He looked to see if a rogue wave was forming outside, but saw nothing. Then she stopped, and sat up on her board. There was a strange sound, like buzzing bubbles, and she waved her hand in the shape of infinity. Suddenly, there arose a swell far out and Donnie yelled, "Outside!" He paddled as hard as he could, but was unable to catch her. He thought he would lose the 'wave of the day' to her, but then she turned, smiled, and slid over the back of the peak. Donnie turned and pushed hard into the face of perfection. This was it, the one he had been waiting for all summer, heck, all his life. A wave of such beauty was a rare thing around here. He dropped in and felt the swoosh of water around his ears. He knew he was in the tube. He heard the ocean around him as the shoulder kept forming, perfectly, in front of him. As he approached the rocks he swept up the face and kicked out the back. High in the air he yelled, and came down into the sea.

Donnie poked his head up and started to say, “Did you see that?" He did not see the girl. He looked for her all around. Nothing. She was nowhere to be seen. She had vanished. He thought maybe she caught the next wave and she'll be coming back now. He waited as the crests passed him by. He sat on his board and bobbed up and down for a while. He finally thought, she must have gone in, and took a wave into shore lying on his board. He stood up and ran up the sand. No one was there. He turned to look out to sea. Not a soul. He noticed that Mitchell's had gotten real ugly. The mush that the other surfers would not like was back. Donnie quickly made his way up the pathway to his car. At the top of the cliff he scanned the water below, but saw nothing. He thought, how sad it was to have had such a good time with the Viking girl, but not know her name, who she was, where she was from, and if he would ever see her again.

Donnie toweled off, and got into his car. He took one last look at the sea. He laughed as he drove away and wondered if she was ever there at all. What he did not see were the jade green eyes that poked up from the ocean's surface, and watched as he sped off, before they slowly submerged.