Gravity

It was a still, pre-dawn morning. There was no sound as Feya sat on her board, dangling her feet into the black water below. Off in the distance, obscured by a thick layer of fog, the brightness from Platform Holly's lights created an eerie glow that did nothing to illuminate the darkness surrounding her. Feya had set her iPhone alarm for 5:00 am the night before. The swell that was coming from the northwest had been well-advertised, and the crowds were sure to be on it by first light. Her plan was simple. She would make her way to the point while it was still dark. By the time the sun began to brighten the sky, Feya would be dropping into her first solitary monster of the morning, hopefully to the sound of her brothers' hoots and hollers. Ordinarily, Feya loved paddling out before dawn during a big winter swell, but today something felt...off.

In 16 years, Feya had never backed down from a challenge. Having three older brothers, she grew up in a house that was full of life and adventure. When her brothers went on bike rides up the mountain, she always tagged along close behind. When the boys would hike through treacherous terrain to their favorite surf spot, it was never a question if Feya would be included. Rather than complain about having their little sister follow them around, her brothers had always encouraged Feya's wild spirit and included her in all their escapades. The brothers loved having Feya around because she was always good-natured, never complained, and was always up for an adventure.

That morning, Feya found herself wishing her brothers were sitting alongside her in the empty lineup. She knew she should have waited for them to arrive before paddling out. If they had still lived at home, she imagined they would have been out the door even before she was. But, her brothers had gotten older and moved into their own place in town. Living on their own had done something to their internal alarm clocks, and they all seemed to want to sleep in later and later. Still, they had planned on meeting up at their favorite spot this morning, or at least that's what Feya thought. As she sat in the heavy silence, Feya found her thoughts wandering back to the text conversation she had with her brothers the night before.

"Meet at 5:30?"

"By the big tree?"

"Yup"

"Donuts after?"

"Fey, why are you always thinking about food? Think about WAVES!"

"I AM thinking about waves. AND DONUTS!!!"

Food was the last thing on Feya's mind as she felt something cold and slimy slide against her bare calf. Her surprised body jolted her board, causing ripples to radiate outward until they disappeared into the mist. Did she imagine it? She quickly looked around, but all she could see was the glassy ocean surface. Whatever was happening below was a mystery. This was not the first time Feya had spooked herself while surfing. It was an easy thing to do, especially when she was sitting alone, in the dark, at the edge of a fog bank, in an isolated secret spot where no one but her brothers knew she was right now, and. . . .

"STOP IT FEYA", she told herself sternly. One of the things Feya was most proud of about herself was her level-headedness. She told herself what she probably felt was a strand of kelp, gliding with the current. At that moment, towards the horizon, Feya saw a shadow. The shadow seem to rise up at least ten feet into the air. Feya's mind had just enough time to decipher what she was seeing. There was a kelp bed up ahead, and the tops of the kelp swayed lazily along the surface. A set wave was rolling through and lifting the shadowy kelp strands as it approached her.

Feya sat back on her board and egg-beatered her legs below to turn herself towards shore. She squinted over her shoulder at the oncoming wall of water. Just enough light peeked over the horizon for Feya to make out the enormous cresting wave as it lifted the back of her board. Feya had misjudged how close the wave was and how fast it was coming. Feya knew she needed to get to her feet quickly so that she could make the steep drop. As her feet connected to the board, Feya's stomach was in her throat as her body seemed to free fall down the dark face of the wave. A cold wind blew Feya's hair back so hard, she could feel the ends disappear into the rising water behind her. There was no where to go but straight down, and Feya felt the panic rise in her chest. She leaned in hard to the right and dug her rail deep into the wave. Feya's board rewarded her with a launch of speed as she pulled out her deepest bottom turn, narrowly escaping a stall at the bottom that would have surely been catastrophic. The rest of the wave was filled with several well executed turns and cutbacks, none of which had the same effect as that initial, adrenaline-fueled bottom turn. At the end of the ride, Feya decided to walk up the beach instead of making the long paddle back. As she kicked out of the wave, yelling, and laughter filled the air. The celebration was coming from the shoreline. Feya knew who it was without having to strain to see the three shadowy figures jumping up and down on the sand. Her brothers had made it after all, better late than never. And what was her oldest brother holding out to her as she ran over to them? The most beautiful pink box, filled with what she knew was her favorite food: DONUTS!

The End?