Sanditon Melodies

Chapter 4: Only the Ocean

Sidney woke up early the next day. He'd had a restless night. The mattress on the bed in the spare room needed replacing, for it was rare for guests to stay here given they would normally stay in the Annex. There was a sore spot on his back where one of the springs had dug into him during the night, but it was nothing that an early morning surf wouldn't sort out and Sidney was dying to get to the sea. The benefit of having the spare room was that he had a great view of the ocean, and he could tell that the conditions were perfect for catching some waves. He quickly pulled on a pair of board shorts, a t-shirt and some flip flops and headed to the shed round the back of the house where his wetsuit and surfboard were kept.

Once all kitted out, Sidney jogged to the beach and didn't stop running even when he reached the sea until the force of the waves and current slowed him down. As soon as the salty water surrounded him, he instantly felt at home. Sidney stopped when he waist high in the water, closed his eyes and sank down to his shoulders, sighing deeply as he let the water wash away every concern and all the tension in his body. He'd missed this. He'd missed it a lot. He promised himself he wouldn't leave it so long to visit next time. Sidney hopped onto his board and swam out deeper so he could catch the best waves. He was the only one here and this is how he'd like it best: just him and the ocean waves.

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It took a while for Charlotte to get to sleep that night, a combination of trying to sleep in a new place plus thinking about Sidney's suggestion to stick around for Tom's open mic night. She couldn't deny she was tempted to stay. It would be nice to have a day on the beach, like actually properly have a day off, as she had spent all her time recently studying or working so that she could afford to study. However, thinking about having time off also made her feel guilty as she still had 10,000 words to write of her dissertation and no clue as to what direction it was going in. She needed to have a light bulb moment soon or she'd miss the next deadline set by her tutor which was only next week.

Eventually Charlotte went to sleep, and actually managed to have a good seven hours, which wasn't bad considering, so she woke up feeling more refreshed than she expected to. Determined to see the sea before she had to catch her train, she hastily got dressed, filled her travel mug with coffee (as Mary had left a tray with tea bags and coffee sachets along with UHT milk in the kitchenette) and headed out the door and onto the street.

The street was deserted, for it was only 7.45am in the morning. It was a bit of a blustery day, yet still warm even though it was early. Charlotte closed her eyes, breathed in the ocean air and listened to the waves. It felt like the sea was actually calling to her and she followed her senses as they led her to the beach.

Charlotte was surprised to find that the beach was literally a five minute walk away and when she saw it, she couldn't help but smile. Once she got there, she flicked her shoes off to feel the sand between her toes as memories of beach holidays with her family came flooding back to her. Slowly she walked along the sand, taking in all her surroundings: The gulls chanting as they flew above her head; the bluey grey colour of the sea; the white foam bubbling as the waves broke; and the horizon where the sky met the ocean, which even though it was choppy was completely straight and seemed to go on and on and on. Charlotte's eyes darted to the sand and she saw there were a few shells scattered around. She thought it would be a nice idea to bring some home with her. Her younger sister, Alison, was quite crafty and could no doubt find some use for them.

Charlotte walked aimlessly for about ten minutes, sipping her coffee and picking up shells along the way, until she noticed there was a solitary figure in the sea. He had just caught a wave and was standing up and riding it to the shore in a very skilful manner. She watched the lone surfer for a while, as he swam back out to sea and sat on his board waiting for another decent wave. After a few minutes, the person went to catch the next wave and he was up on his feet again as he rode the wave towards the shore. The fact that someone was in the sea (albeit in a wetsuit) made Charlotte want to see how cold it was. She started walking towards the water and when she got there, she dipped her toes in and retracted them immediately after emitting a squeal. It was freezing! But this was not going to put Charlotte off. She wanted at least a decent paddle for who knew when the next time would be when she would get the chance to do this again. She dipped her toes in for the second time and left them in the sea as they got used to the cold temperature before venturing in a bit deeper. The waves were strong, so she couldn't go out too far as they kept crashing against her legs. Charlotte imagined that surfing in these conditions must be exhilarating. She'd like to give it another go one day. Charlotte looked out to sea again to see if the lone surfer was still there, but she couldn't see him until a voice startled her from behind.