On July 14th, 2019, I found myself sitting on a surfboard, sunburned, covered in seaweed, wet, with bits of sand in my hair, wishing I were anywhere else in the world. Yet I was in Honolulu being taught surfing by an inexperienced teenager whose hair went down below his shoulders and called himself Moonbeam, yes actually. He had just finished telling us what to do once we’d caught a wave.
“Bend your knees, and look straight, the rest you’ll figure out!” he said.
Whatever my dad had paid for that class, was a long shot from what it was worth.
“Who wants to go first?” he asked.
We were silent, having only been taught two things about surfing, other than to figure it out.
“No one? It’s easy really, you just have to figure it out.”
He scanned the group, no one spoke.
“Alright then, Mikey you’re up!” Moonbeam told me.
Of all people! I thought. My mind scattered trying to think of an excuse.
“I need to watch someone else do it first.” I told him.
“Just figure it out, open your heart to the ocean,” he answered.
I gave him a puzzled look.
“You know what I mean,” he said.
I did not.
I hesitated; Moonbeam shot me an impatient glance.
“There’s a wave coming up now, start paddling Mikey!” he instructed.
“I’m not ready yet,” I told him.
He rolled his eyes, “Figure it out!” he said.
He then gave me a great push as the wave came, giving me little time to process the situation. I still sat with my bottom on the board, and legs in the water. After Moonbeam’s push there was an even larger shove that came from the wave behind me, like a great beast that had found me in its way. Totally in shock, I was off, carried away by the wave.
Panicking, I swooped my legs onto the boards, and lied down. Jump off I thought. I was too scared, lying down on the board the wave towered monstrously over me. My instinct told me to stay on the board. It gave out a monstrous roar as we continued forward, like it was going to eat me whole if I didn’t stay where I was. Just stay on the board, you’re fine right here on the board I thought to myself. That calmed me down a little. All I had to do was stay there until the wave died.
I looked behind me, the wave grew bigger as I moved along. If I were standing up it would have been above my head. It was like a large animal moving under an oily green carpet.
Foam formed at its tips, and the ride grew increasingly bumpy. I began to get the idea that any moment this wave could tumble over me, and I’d be caught in the undertow dragged around like a ragdoll. It happened plenty of times when I’d got boogie boarding and had a giant wave crash down over me. Suddenly I’d be swirling in circles, and hanging on to my swim shorts, with the taste of saltwater in my mouth. Those waves could be mere splashes in a swimming pool compared to this freak of nature. I was petrified of what it would do if it suddenly crashed and caught me in its grasp.
Ahead of me the city of Honolulu sat colorfully lit in the warm sunshine. In front of the buildings, and tropical restaurants. Was the crowded beach packed with sunbathing adults, and little kids scampering about looking for sand crabs, or throwing frisbees. How stupid had I been to have left that to be wet, cold, and sunburned, at the complete mercy of a beast that would open its jaws and swallow me whole if I simply leaned a little to the right and tipped over. I should have paddled out of that lesson the moment I found out the instructor’s name was Moonbeam I thought.
I then realized the middle of the wave had sunk back, while the top stuck out over me with an increased amount of foam foaming. It was going to crash. I was at its complete mercy. I could taste the salt water that I would be swallowing soon already. I tried to imagine a situation where I wouldn’t get wiped out too badly. There was no such possibility I could even fathom.
Signs of crashing increased rapidly. The top of the wave stuck out more and more. It had grown to be twice the size it had when I first caught it. My mind raced, wishing I had jumped off while I still had the chance, but it was too late. At that point there was nothing I could have possibly done to make the situation any better. How stupid could I have been to assume that this wave would have simply died out. I gulped. The wave suddenly crashed.
After only a single moment to prepare for impact. I felt a great force push me down until I could feel the smooth sand of the ocean floor as my toes brushed against it. The sour taste of saltwater filled my mouth despite efforts to keep it shut. Much of it managed to trickle down my throat causing me to gag. The taste became stronger, and I felt as if I was going to throw up.
Everything was happening so fast. All I could think about was getting to the surface. Which didn’t feel possible at the moment. In my first attempt to swim up I had only managed to get a quick breath before I was sent swirling down again. I could only wait out the crash as the undertow tugged me around mercilessly and hold onto my swim trunks.
Finally, the strength the crash had once contained weakened. This time I was able to swim up to the surface, and the great power that had once pushed me down had become a slight tug. To my right was my surfboard, which floated there flipped over on the foaming water. As I got on other waves passed by, all dwarfs compared to the giant I had ridden. Behind me I could see the surf lesson I had ridden away from, two boys were wrestling each other on a board, soon they both rolled off, and continued their fight in the water, where they both tried pushing each other under the surface. All while Moonbeam sat and watched in mild amusement.
Without a second thought I paddled for the shore. Next time, I’ll just go paddleboarding.
Padraic Dwyer is fifteen years old, lives in Danville California and attends Monte Vista High School. He has had a passion for writing stories since a young age.