God, Love & All Things Surf

Chapter 1: Recollection

She stood in the ankle deep Caribbean sand surrounded by sun-scorched strands of grass that wavered in the ocean breeze. It was that magical time between daylight and darkness. The tide was fully in and the rhythmic crashing of the waves on the shore calmed Thea's restless spirit.

She brushed her thick brown hair back as the wind once again blew it wildly around her face. As she stood in the glow of the full moon, her shadow cast out before her by the flicker of the lit torches on the boarded path behind, all she could think about was the exhilarating wave she had caught a few hours earlier.

Thea's Recollection--------------------------

"Are you gunna take one today or not?" Max jeered as he sat back on his surfboard, his blonde hair dripping from the spray off the wave he had just caught.

"Ya that last one just caught me off guard!" Thea defended herself. "And my foot slipped on the drop." She added sheepishly.

Her surfing partner's light, contagious laughter floated over the water. "Sure. In that case, why don't you take the next wave back in and wax up again." His eyes mirrored the colour of the Caribbean water they were in.

Thea shook her head and smiled to herself. She would not give up so easily.

"Ya, take your time! We'll totally wait for you." Max's best friend Komachi added, winking to Max.

"Give it up guys! There's no way I'm missing what could be the wave of the day to either of you."

Ever since her family had moved to hot, sunny Costa Rica 6 years ago, Thea Tyler and Max Theissen had been great friends. Their families had first met at church the week the Tyler's moved in, and living only blocks from one another, the two families became very close. The Theissen's and the Tyler's would often be homeschooled together so any spare time they had, Thea and Max would take the 5 minute walk to the beach.

Being born and raised on the shores of Costa Rica, Max had learned to surf long before he met Thea. For this reason he was a bit envious when he began giving her surfing lessons (after much pleading on Thea's part) and realized that she was a natural in the water. It wasn't long before she was impressing his surfing friends. So much so apparently, that they allowed her to join them at some of the best 'locals only' spots. But as time went on, Max realized that there was something about surfing--or being in the water--that bothered Thea. He wasn't sure why but some days she couldn't catch a single wave, or other times she would refuse to duck dive and would get pounded in the impact zone. He had tried to question her about it numerous times but all she ever did was joke about it "not being her day". Therefore, the only conclusion Max could ever come to was that she was afraid of sharks. And evidently some days, such as this particular afternoon with near 9 foot waves, were worse than others.

"Dude, with the way you're surfing, Kamikaze and I have total priority on any wave." Max replied, referring to Komachi's nickname--earned based on his radical and rather dangerous surfing. "But maybe if you beg us..." he said trying to coax her into revealing what was bothering her.

"Aw, come on Max," Thea sincerely pleaded, the disappointment evident in her voice.

She knew the guys were just looking out for her. Letting her attempt waves she obviously wasn't committed to, risked her safety as well as theirs if she needed help. "Look, I'll give total commitment to the next wave. I promise!"

After a moment of thinking, Max turned to Komachi.

"Seriously man? You give up way too easily for this girl!"

Max smiled to himself. Komachi wasn't wrong but Max couldn't help the fact that he had a soft spot for Thea. As he looked over at her, he wasn't sure if it was her sun tanned skin that brought out her ever-sparkling chocolate brown eyes or her long brown hair with auburn highlights from long hours spent in the sun.