Today I decided to be just a little brave and share a story that I created with the social media world. This piece was inspired by my many days at school watching friends of mine surf in all sorts of weather conditions. One warm and golden sunny day, I was sitting on a bench overlooking the ocean and the beach, watching my surfing friends cut the waves, making it look like they were surfing on crystals, when a thought came to me. “Are there any blind surfers in the world?” We all know of the famous one-armed surfer, Bethany Hamilton. But I wondered what the experience of surfing would be like for someone who is blind. Because we have all the knowledge of the world at our finger tips, I decided to google search some facts. Contrary to popular belief, people who are blind do not live in a world of complete darkness. They can still see light and notice how it shifts. This is where I came up with the idea to write this short fiction story. For those of you who have never read a fictional short story before, they are chalk-full of symbolic meaning! Hint: the “wave rider” is not the surfer and it does not only represent the surfer’s surf board. I will leave you with only that and let you interpret the rest for yourself. After all, it’s all about perspective.
Wave Rider: A Surfer’s Testimony
Today. Today was a good day, he thought.
The air was hot and alive with words, welcoming him home. He stood there at the edge of the surf, as the sky’s wet twin beckoned his feet to follow. He stared and listened, with nothing but the Golden Glow to guide him.
The Glow had become his brother over time. He never saw it much as a young son. Now, after many years, it had become his partner and friend. The Glow is what helped him to fly with the twin of the sky.
All grew still and calm, when the song of the dolphins could be sung. He lifted up the Wave Rider, which had been waiting anxiously beside him, up from the warm earth powder. He tossed The Rider, followed by himself, into their cool and salty home. He began to paddle, his wet body on top of The Rider, and his hands feeling the energy of the world below the deep.
When he had paddled the right count, he sat up on the board, his eyes remaining in the direction of the glow. This was not particularly easy, for diamonds were scattered all around him. It was a beauty to behold. The diamonds glimmered majestically on the surface of the wet world. They surrounded him in a sea of silver light.
Suddenly, he felt the energy and gipped the sides of his trusted companion. A wave approached and encompassed the air around him just as he leaned forward, dunking The Rider and himself under the mighty wet lip. He breached the surface, spreading diamonds across the sky twin, causing them to glimmer and shine more rapid and abundantly than before. As he repositioned, he weaved his hands through the wetness, waiting for the energy to return. It did.
This time, he fixed his eyes on The Glow and paddled towards the energy. He felt the rhythm of the waves through The Rider. He fixed his eyes on the bright Golden Glow and saw a mass of glittering diamonds gliding toward him. He paddled a few final strokes and finally hoisted himself up. He was flying.
The Wave Rider held him up safely above the crashing waves and glided them across their ocean home. The wind was back and breathing through his hair. It was cheering as he and The Rider danced together on the waves’ white caps. Water began raining down on his salted and burnt face, first from above, then from all around.
He fixed his eyes on The Glow, which was fading now, and lowered his body. There was no wind, only water. It was a race between him and the ocean. The rain of salty sea increased and the wave began closing in on him. He lowered his body closer and closer to The Rider. His speed picked up and increased until, suddenly, a small hand of water kissed his face and The Glow shown bright.
The wind and air encompassed his body in a celebratory embrace. For who would have thought that a boy with no sight, but only light, would dance with a Wave Rider. He lay back on his trusted companion thinking of all his father had taught him about the deep wet world, how he had taught him to dance with The Rider.
He paddled back until he felt the warm sand in his hands. He and the wave rider sat together on the beach, both wetted by the ocean’s baptism. They sat together watching the Great Golden Glow descending into the deep wet world.
Today. Today was a good day, he thought.
Then, all was dark.
