Visions Of The Deep

• Molly Breen, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2013

I startled awake, my bed soaked with sweat. I had woken from a dream, a terrible dream, I didn’t quite understand.
I had been on a boat, lost at sea, stranded forever. I looked for land. I cried for help, but nothing came. It was quiet, the water still, and then suddenly, the water dropped and began to spin violently. It was a whirlpool, pulling me down into the depths of the sea. I tried to move up. It was impossible. Then it stopped. I was sitting at the bottom of the ocean.
I could breathe. I didn’t have gills, but I was breathing. A dark figure moved across the sand in front of me. It was some monster from the deep. It circled several times, looking at me with its dark eyes. Then it lunged, knocking me back. I was stunned. I struggled and tried to fight back, but I couldn’t, my body wasn’t working. My body allowed the monster to attack, to destroy me. I lay there screaming and sobbing, wanting desperately for it to stop.
***
I pulled myself out of bed, disgusted at the stench of the sweat. My skin was sticky and uncomfortable. I decided to have a shower. The warm water ran down my back and washed the layer off. After a few minutes, I dried and got dressed into my wetsuit.
I’m a surfer, I have always been. Ever since my parents bought me my first surfboard and taught me how I’ve been obsessed with the sport. I go down to the beach just about every morning. I slide my blue and yellow board into the rack my dad had come up with one day, attached to my bike, and begin to ride down the hill. The beach is only two minutes away.
In a heartbeat I arrive at the beach and rest my bike against the fence. I race down to the water and jump straight in, never afraid of the temperature. I strongly paddle to beyond the breaking point. I look back over my shoulder. Not much movement. I sit up on my board and wait. But it wasn’t long before a set of waves came rolling in. I was soon up and away, riding a wave down to shore. I jumped off and started to paddle back out again.
The wave was a reasonable size. It started to come towards me. Then to my utter shock it rose up and tripled in size. It was coming fast. I panicked. I had nowhere to go; I had to go through it. I pushed my board down and started gliding through the wave. I felt a strong pull and looked down. I saw those dark eyes. I was trapped, and then it lunged.