I packed up my things in my new carmel colored knit soulder bag, wrapped myself in my signature green towl, and we were on our way.
We found a careful little cove where only locals went. The beach and the city streets were separated by a rock wall with etchings and love symbols lightly drawn over them. We dropped our bags and towels and headed for the water. While adjusting to the temperature of the water we started talking about 'Ohio Bombs' where you run into the ocean and cannonball over a large wave.
"Won't we go straight to the bottom and hit the sand" I asked.
"How are you supposed to run in the water?" Another girl wondered
I went a little further into the water.
"You know, the water is actually pretty warm today.....Let's try it!"
We ran up to the shore like little girls and started doing Ohio Bombs into the ocean. The waves crashed higher and higher and you could almost hear the inner child in our high pitched squeals.
Then the waves started swelling higher and it became a longer commute back to the sandy shore. A large wave hit the shore and rushed to our bags. The water quickly drug all our towels and bags into the salty ocean. We scrambled trying to retrieve our stuff before it went out too far. All I could think about was my brand new light colored bag now salted and dirty, and possibly a damaged cell phone.
We gathered our belongings and were smacked in the back with another large wave.
"The waves are getting pretty high, I think we should maybe go" One girl mentioned.
We all nodded in agreement, secured our things, and started walking down the beach to a safe place to climb. The waves kept growing, leaving us little to no room to walk.
"We have to climb now" I said as we looked up the steep rock wall that we would have to climb. We saw a medical crew rushing to a girl who was laying in the water against the rocks, waves rolling over her body like they owned her. I froze in shock of how serious this situation just got. The paramedic looked up and screamed at us to get out of here.
We started scrambling up the rocks, slipping on every other step because our bodies and the rocks were drenched. Waves were crashing harder now, slamming us into the sharp rocks. I dropped my green towel and watched it get swept away instantly by the salty monster. We didn't speak a word through the whole climb. It was hard enough to breathe knowing that if you slipped, that was it.
After what seemed like eternity, my fingers were bleeding and it felt like it was raining. I knew instantly that this was the hardest thing I had ever done. I found a good rock to cling to and rested for a moment. I looked around me to see the other girls struggling too, but I had to look away. I closed my eyes, and through the sting of the waves on the back of my legs I thought about all the things I would miss if I didn't make it through this. I thought about the girl laying in the water and the limited time they had to rescue her. She was not as lucky. Not as lucky as me, drenched in salt water literally clingy to a rock for dear life.
"C'mon, lets go!" I heard one of my friends call out.
I gathered all my strength and pulled myself away from the comfortable rock. I wanted to stay with that rock forever, wait until someone rescued me. But I knew I couldn't hold on that long. I looked for other rocks to pull myself onto but they were too small to grip. "This is it" I thought. My fingers were numb. I noticed how the water went from warm and comforting to cold and scary in a matter of moments.
Then a rope slapped against the rocks, inches away from my face.
"Grab on" I heard a young man's voice call out.
Without hesitation I poured all my weight onto the rope. Not even questioning if they had it tied off or not. I used my feet to shimmy up the rocks, and was pulled to the top by a team of guys. They weren't in uniform, just helping out. I looked and saw my friends were up too. Then I collapsed. I couldn't move a single muscle in my body.
Eventually I felt myself get picked up and put on a stretcher. I managed to roll my head to the side and look out into the ocean blue. The waves crashed and water shot over the rocks. I smiled because it was still beautiful.
