The taste of the saltwater was still raw in his mouth. His nose still stung and he had a headache. He must have swallowed a sea of saltwater. He closed his eyes, and then the picture came back to him again. He felt the strong waves hugging him tight and pulling him down. His hands were flapping and he was trying to push himself out. Always a strong swimmer, the sea was his sanctuary and he like a fish was used to all it trials and tribulations.
The smell of the saltwater, the humid air, the fish- they have always had a calming effect on him. He had strong legs and hands and a muscular but lean torso. Coming out of the water, with the sun shining in the background and the water droplets shimmering on his shoulder like diamonds he looked like a Greek God. He gave his head a shake, to shake off the salt from his face and hair. His golden locks now forming soft curls and falling over his forehead. He looked at a kid playing at a distance and smiled at him. The kid smiled back. He picked up his towel and swung it over his shoulder and started a light sprint towards his shack.He heard bullet shots in the distance, or were they fire crackers.He didn't look back. He was angry. There was pollution everywhere nowadays and even the sanctity of this small beach town was slowly getting adulterated with the number of tourists that it garnered. Tourism was good for the livelihood of the people but it also meant an end to the routine and simple things that was so endearing about this town.
It was late evening and he switched on the radio. The alert again. High Tide !! And then he remembered the kid. The kid was going towards the sea ready to jump in with all surfing gear. He had seen the kid in the neighborhood quite a few times over the last few weeks- innocent, independent and aloof most times, the kid reminded him of himself about a decade back. The same anger, the same aura, the same desire to prove !! He heard some whispers close-by, some random music, almost like he was playing a part in a movie and he equated himself with the hero. He tried to shut-off his mind to the foreign sounds and concentrate.
He lugged his swimming suit and started sprinting towards the sea where most professional surfers take to tame the sea. He saw the figure in the distance entering the sea. He screamed out, but he didn't know the kids name. He cursed himself and increased his speed. He had spent quite some hours in the water just sometime back and his legs were giving away, but he kept on. He saw the figure enter deeper into the sea, and then he seemed to have caught up with him, only to have lost him again. He kept going deeper and screaming out to the boy. But the kid was already going under. And then he saw a mighty wave come towards him ready to swallow him too.
He felt the water pressure all around him. His heart started aching and he swallowed a lot of the water, the wave pulled him down. He closed his eyes and nose, but the wave was strong and managed to enter him. He could feel it stinging his brain now. And he was sure he would die. He tried hard and managed to kick one of his legs hard. It hit something like a wooden structure and then he felt a numbing pain sear through his legs and move up towards his body. He tried to mumble something, his legs still felt heavy but the pressure of water was gone. He tried moving his hands and they hit some something like the back of a sofa. It was dark and there was commotion all around, or so it seemed. The screen ahead of him flashed "Intermission- Grab your Drink and Snacks".
