She listened to the waves lapping on the bottom of her board. It felt really good to be back in the water. It had been far too long of a separation, but she was back now, and enjoying the setting sun as she waited for the next set of waves to come in. This sunset surf was the best idea she's had in a while. The wind had died down around four in the afternoon, so she grabbed her beach stuff and booked it to the pier.
The air was a nice medium temperature. A little bit of heat lingered but was quickly turning into a crisper evening. She wished she had more days like this. The summer was slipping away it felt like. Wasn't it June like yesterday?
A slow rolling wave signaled the new set. She turned her board around and looked behind her. The wave was lazily strolling along, not rushing towards the coast at all. She began to paddle, deep pulls up to her arm pit and back again. She was gaining speed quickly. The wave rolled under her fins and lifted her up, then she turned to the right as she popped up. The whooshing sound of water filled her ears as her board hovered over the water. It was a perfect set, and she couldn't think of anywhere else she would want to be than right here in this moment.
As she got closer to the shore, a weird ripple caught her eye. It was coming from the wave she was gliding on, so she turned her head slightly to the right to see what it was.
A fin sliced through the water, and as the dark object turned, it opened it's jaw.
SHARK
AHHHHHH!!! She screamed, but no sound came out. She felt like the wind was knocked out of her.
What do I do?! She thought about bailing off her board, but no way could she out swim that animal. She was headed in a diagonal line to the coast, but it would still take a while to get there. Could she balance that long? How was this happening?? This is way too close to the shore!
Then the shark dove, deep, into the blue below. Slowly the ripples began to fade, then nothing. She looked down the wave's side, expecting to see this animal dart up at her. But, nothing.
She reached the shore and frantically grabbed her board. She picked it up over her head and ran through the ankle deep waters to the safety of the sand. Throwing herself down onto her towel, she unleashed herself and took in air as if she had just ran a marathon. That was way to close again! She looked down at her calf, where the white scar dotted her skin. The teeth marks were perfectly spaced. She rubbed it as if to try to erase the evidence.
That shark must have known that she was already marked. A survivor of last summer, she had the bite marks to prove it. This shark just wanted to let her know that it still ruled the ocean. As if she needed reminding.
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