THE GAMES OF POWER

THE GAMES OF POWER: Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1:

I stared out to where the sunlight met the mass of pulsating waves. The collision of the horizons. Fire and ice. Or water, technically. You get what I mean. Anyway, the point was that it was beautiful.

Really, this was probably one of the top sights everyone should see before they die. Just a nice long look as the sun creeps up above the ocean, spraying the sky with deep oranges and pinks. Gold and bronze streaks playing across the sky like someone smeared paint in the air. Really, you should see it sometime.

It was my favorite time of day to come visit the waves. Early morning, just before the sun peeked its bald yellow head up over the earth. I’m sure Em would love to see it.

Wherever she is, that is…

“You see somethin’,” said a slightly reedy voice behind me. “Or are you just daydreamin’?”

I broke the trance of the morning sunrise to face the owner of the voice. “Just looking at the sunrise. Beautiful ain’t it?”

My best friend—maybe the only friend I considered worthy of the title—sat on his board, legs disappearing at the knees beneath lapping seawater. Lucas scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah Jet sure, it’s great. But I ain’t some romantic date of yours.” He scratched the back of his head and swiveled around on top of his electric green board, anticipation easing off his body like sweat. “You ready to surf or what dude? Whatcha got? Anything?”

I sighed a shook my head loose. We were here to surf, not look at the beauties in the sky. “Sorry man, give me a sec.” I scanned the ocean, feeling the water beneath me and my board as the ripples whispered their secret, and sometimes destructive intentions.

There. A small swell early in formation.

I turned my body and laid down flat on my board, the grain feeling smooth and cool against my skin. I was already paddling towards the little wave, throwing the water behind me. “Let’s paddle out. Gotta feeling that little swell up there is gonna A-Frame.”

“Aww yeah,” Lucas clapped his hands together, that goofy grin of his surely playing across his face. “Good to have back in the real world, man. Let’s do this!”

Lucas enthusiasm was not unwarranted. An A-Frame was a very distinct kind of wave that grew large sides that hailed from a peak that dipped down, separating the shredding area. In other words, two surfers could ride it.

I ignored the whooping enthusiasm coming from my best friend behind me, and paddled straight and true. “Shut up and paddle,” I yelled behind me.

The gulls were up this morning, like little spectators here to watch us carve our names into the wave to come. Giving little hoots and hollers of their own in their little birdy tongue. As long as one of the little buggers didn’t bomb me, I was all right with them hanging around.

As seawater sprayed across my face and back while I paddled, I continued to watch the forming wave. It was getting bigger and bigger by the second, the wind pushing it like a father helping his son take his first steps. The closer we got, the more I felt this one was an A-Frame.

According to Lucas, I had a gift. Not really, ‘cause that’s totally nuts, but I was correct on more than a few occasions. I get these…these feelingsof what the waves are going to be. Where they were going to be coming from, and what form they were going to take. I could usually discern the big kahunas from the baby crawlers pretty early in their wind-driven formation. Sort of like a surfer’s intuition I guess you could say. But Lucas swears by it. But hey, I don’t make a big deal about it. I just ride what I “feel.”