𝐖𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐬

CHAPTER TWO - THE WOMAN

Andreus

Holy shit!

What a wave!

A laugh shot out of my lungs as I got swallowed up by the bone-chilling ripple. The ocean didn't treat one with the kindness only a fool would expect. It didn't treat a soul like it deserved kindness. It gave the worst it had to see if one could suck it up, move on and come back for more. I was often reminded of one of those toxic relationships people kept running from-slash-into. I wasn't above admitting I was in such a relationship with the water. My situation was even worse. I got high on the anticipation of what each wave had to provide. I got high on its refusal to be tamed.

I got high on the cruelty and wildness and the forever unexpected.

Straddling my surfing board, I grinned at the increasing waves. The day started sunny, but in no way was it warm. Winds were going all out on the water, pushing it ruthlessly towards the shore. The eagerness I paddled with towards the following slap of the Pacific could be legendary in these temperatures. The upstate of British Columbia didn't go easy on the seasons, but I'd be damned if I was defeated by a little cold. A little cold considered warm by the locals. The jump on the wave, despite it rising higher than the other, was smoother than the previous one. I whopped as loud as I could as I slid through the eye of the wave, teasing the water on my way out. Hues of colorful fish winked from shadowy blues, offering an insight to what was hiding under the surface.

I balanced myself as I shot out of the wave, dancing with the flowing foam at the top. From the mile long distance, I could see the reef peaking out of the water at the top of a great stone. Plenty other reefs were visible so. The beach didn't offer such a clear sight, even if it lasted less than a few seconds. The distraction couldn't take long, unless I wanted to hit said reefs.

Seagulls squeaked in the sky, some taking interest in the little forms of life on the shore. Fish flopped on the taller rocks when swept up by the waves. Brisk rays glistened in the dark waters, brightening the blue to lighter shades. The frigid wind beat at my surroundings, further maddening the ocean.

My eyes traveled over the vast landscape, the forest behind the beach, the peak of the town appearing in the South-West, the peebles that turned into stones further North. Almost unwillingly, I scanned the beach for, what I began to think of as, a hallucination.

In the few mornings since I settled in Rochwin, I always caught sight of a woman running down the shore at the crack of dawn. Her morning routine wasn't the normal jog people went on, it was a run at an aggressive pace. I'd caught glimpses of the sand splashing behind her, of the wind whipping the long braid off her back and the white earphones peaking out of her ears. I couldn't see too much, but curiosity was sparked. She was the only one I'd caught sight of on this side of the beach, the only one who woke up so early to visit messy waters. The only one who distracted me enough to punch the balance out of me.

Every time my eyes landed on her, I lost all awareness of my surroundings. In the moments I took to admire her, I managed to sink into the wave. By the time I swam up, she was gone... disappeared as though she'd never been passing by. Not even the traces of her feet were visible.

I was sure by now, my head was playing tricks on me. So much silence had suffocated the roads, so much time had been spent under the glaring sun, so much water had filled my head... I wouldn't be surprised.

This time, I didn't have to see her to double over. I was shaken off my feet, a laugh rumbling the wave that had gulped me down.

I gasped when I got to the surface, a grin splitting my face. "You think that's funny, huh?"

A sharp whistle of agreement was released by the wind, deepening the mock.

"You're lucky I'm distracted," I mused, clinging to my board.