Into the blue

I am swimming. Waves are rolling gently, pushing me to and fro, as the sun shines down on me. I lay my head back, listening to the purr of the water as it flows past me. I feel free, as though I am flying through the liquid. Without warning my face grows cold. I open my eyes, as a sudden chill wind is whistling past my face. The sun has slid behind a fluffy white could, a cloud like you could only imagine tasting like pure sugar and happiness. However happiness is the last feeling I have, as I slowly upright myself to tread water. I look ahead, to see small waves in the distance. I glance back behind me, and suddenly feel myself engulfed by a swell. I bob up, riding the huge movement of this monster that suddenly appeared.  The waves are coming faster now, the white caps swollen with rage. They are carrying me closer and closer to shore, and I’m hoping that if I time it right the waves will safely deposit me upon the shore. I ready myself, feeling the spray as the crest’s rain down on me. I catch the wave, and I begin bodysurfing towards shore, almost fast as I go when I am cruising down Fourth street on my bike and the wind is ripping through my hair and stinging my eyes. I am going too fast, and I have lost my feet in the froth. I barely have time to catch my breath before I am face first in the water. The sand is scraping my face and the rush of water is almost deafening. I claw at the silken walls surrounding me. The water envelopes me, thick with cold tendrils piercing my skin. I tumble, hand over foot. My head scrapes against the sandy bottom and stops up my nose. Suddenly my head breaks the surface and I falter. I claw the water attempting to hold my head above water. I pull in one quick gulp, the water and air rushing down my throat. I sputter, and am suddenly overtaken by another tidal wave. The crush envelopes me, and I can’t push back. My body is scraping through the shallow rivets of sand. I tumble, over and over again. I try and scream but the sand fills my mouth. I choke it out and suddenly I’m above the water again, beached like a small seal. I cough, and ropy strands of snot fall from my nose. My breath comes in raspy gasps, my head hanging with my hair in the sand. I breathe deeply, as deeply as I dare, my lungs filling with the crisp burn of air.  Ohps.; too deep. I choke, and a wave of nausea overcomes me. I can feel the excess amount of water churning in my gut, mixing with the bile and sand, weighing me down. I raise my head, as far as I dare, eyes darting through the thick mask of my hair. The strands are ropy, clumped together by the snot and sand. I breathe again, testing the feeling of air within my lungs again. The particles burn but as the oxygen flows I can feel my brain coming to life again. The water laps around my knees, pushed deep into the sand from the weight of my soul. The water licks up around my body, gently calling me, apologizing for its rough treatment. I glance over my shoulder, the sun blinding me as it bounces off of the suddenly glass surface. Only small ripples break the clean sheet. It looks cool, inviting, as I realize how hot my shoulders have become. The heat is suddenly overwhelming. My body doesn’t seem to want to move though, as though it knows what is coming. My heart strings tug, pulling my soul towards the water. It understands the sanctity that the water provides, the calm that encompasses the rapids of my brain. I slowly rise, palms lifting me up as the weight of my body imprints them into the solid mass beneath me.  I stand, legs extending as I rise up, up, up. The hair around my face falls back, exposing my face to the sun as I stretch back, arcing spinal muscles. The click, cracking like a strand of pearls clacking together, in one fell swoop. I stretch my arms so far over my head that I can feel the muscles strain with the effort. They are sore from the time I’ve spent in the water. My feet are sinking into the beach, water lapping around my ankles as my toes disappear one by one, consumed by the brown grit. I straighten, and turn my body. One foot in front of the other, I stroll into the blue as though nothing had ever happened.