Waves

Derek and I were still catching our breath, in a hidden cul de sac, overlooking the ocean. To our right were the two empty parking spaces and behind us sat two luxurious houses. It wasn’t a private driveway but awfully close. Derek had told me there was a back way out so I was going to leave it up to him. I was sure he knew. At this point, Derek was as curious as I was as to what awaits me at this cove thing, if indeed that was where I am supposed to go. I straightened up, it was time.

“Lead the way dude.” I threw the dude in there because it seemed appropriate for California. Although we say dude in Kansas too, there was a special flare in the California dude talk, and I wanted to join in. Derek smiled at me.

“Okay dude,” he answered back, overemphasizing the dude for comedic effect. We walked on a dirt path, following the coastline, high above and overlooking the ocean. We walked past one more house before the road ended and only the dirt path continued, so it looked like three homes were serviced by this road. We went up some wooden stairs and crossed a skinny, wooden walking bridge, then we were back on dirt again. We walked for awhile more. It was utterly amazing to me that this exists. It is so far removed from the world that I know, it is unbelievable. We were essentially walking in the backyards of gorgeous houses although it was a public trail. It was nicely manicured with colorful foliage, scatterings of benches and the entire Pacific Ocean as the backdrop.

We were walking single file so there wasn’t much blabbing. Besides, Derek was showing his serious side, ever since I told him what was going on. He was in on it now and he wanted to make good. I almost forgot about the red ball, imagine that. But there it was, secure in my right hand. Sometimes Derek would glance at it. Surely he was curious about it and probably even wanted to touch it or hold it. I couldn’t let that happen though, which I’m sure he knew.

Then the wonder and splendor of our walk was suddenly interrupted by a stink, make that a stench. Derek turned around and smiled at me.

“I know, it stinks doesn’t it?” Derek said, as he walked.

“What is that?”

“Look over the side.”

I looked, low and behold, hundreds of Sea Lions, down below, on the sand and rocks. It was the coolest thing I ever saw. Derek was used to it and saw nothing special in it, but I sure did.

“They crap, it stinks,” he said, although I got the impression that he was simply mimicking someone else, which twelve year olds often do. I agreed that it smelled bad, but all those sea lions, just hanging out so close to us was totally awesome to me. And they were huge, I’m sure they were hundreds of pounds each. I stopped walking to admire them, I didn’t even care about the smell. Derek explained to me that the sea lions are an issue with the locals. Some want them protected while others want then driven out, it was a fight. We have our fights too, so I guess fights are everywhere.

There were a few other people on this path, none seemed as enamored with the sea lions as I was. Derek paused with me but he didn’t care much either. Then one of them started barking. It was like watching a real life nature show. Then another started barking. It was a cool sound. I wondered if they were talking to each other in some sea lion language. Then more of these animals joined in the barking chorus. Maybe they were like dogs, when one starts barking, they all do. I was mesmerized by this spectacle, so much so that I didn’t notice others gathering on the cliff edge to watch.

The barking got louder and more frantic, if that even makes sense. Then these sea lions added movement to their barking frenzy. They were twitching, moving and bumping into each other, barking uncontrollably. Then it hit me, it was the crabs all over again. I was the cause of this. By then there was a crowd, pushing in to see this phenomena. No one here suspected me, of course, why would they? I slipped backwards and looked over at Derek. He shook his head as if this was bad. I had told him the crab story earlier so I’m sure he got it, probably faster than I got it, because he knew the typical behavior for these beasts.

I was afraid that this commotion might trigger those guys who were after me. If they knew about this power that I was carrying, then they probably knew what it does to animals. These sea lions were signaling my location. But if I ran and the sea lions immediately settled down, then I think I would have a new problem. What would the crowds think? I needed to get out of there, but casually and calmly, with no attention to myself.

So that was what we did. We walked along the path, continuing in the direction that we were heading. It seemed to be working, the sea lions slowed their barking but unfortunately, a new crop of sea lions started up. The frantic barking was following me. No one noticed, so it seemed. As we got a little further, my worst fears were realized. Derek, who was looking back yelled.

“Look out! Here they come.”

I turned and sure enough, coming up the path were three men, running toward us, They didn’t seem to have the slightest interest in the sea lions. It was me they were after, that much was certain.

“Run!” I yelled back to Derek.

Derek kicked off his flip flops, we started running on the path, passing a few startled and angry strollers. When it looked like we were coming to the end of the path, where it emptied into streets, there came three more men at us from our front, and one of them was the green hat guy. We were trapped for sure.

“This way!” Derek yelled.

Next to the path was a wooden stairway, slightly sloping downward, leading to a viewing platform. We ran down it but the bad guys were right behind us. At the end of the stairway stood a short, white wooden fence which was supposed to mark the end of the viewing area. We quickly hopped over it and ran out onto a protruding rock formation, overlooking the ocean. It may have bought us a few seconds but there was no way out of this, it was a cliff that we were running to. The six men also jumped the fence and were right behind us.

“The clam!” yelled Derek.

The clam I thought? What!?

Not only was this area fenced off, there were ‘no jumping’ and ‘no diving’ signs all over the place. That could only mean one thing, that people have jumped off of this and had been hurt, maybe killed. Derek knew where he was going though. He ran to a particular spot on the cliff, he looked down, then jumped. I watched him fall for what seemed like a long time then splash into the water.

It’s amazing how fast a human brain can work. Here I was with only a second to spare yet my mind conjured up a memory of the public pool back in Salina. I was afraid of the high dive. My friends jumped off but I couldn’t. I actually climbed the stairs and got to the edge. I stared and stared at that pool water but could not make myself jump. This was different for sure.

When the front man got inches from me, reaching out to grab me or more likely, grab the three ball from me, I jumped, fully clothed. Down I went, losing my stomach on the way down. Derek had gotten out of the way just in time as I hit that water and went totally under. I popped up, remarkably still clutching the three ball. I took water in my nose and in my mouth, I was so ill prepared for this jump. I was coughing and splashing on the surface, trying to right myself. None of the men jumped in after us and I knew why. Eventually we would have to crawl back out on the rocks and they would be waiting for us. And there were six of them to spread out, to cover every possible path out.

Derek, while treading water, nodded at me to follow him then he whispered.

“It’s going to be rough and dangerous. Hold tight to that thing, and don’t fight the current. We’re going to the back of the cave.”

And off Derek went, swimming into the cave which lay directly under the cliff that we jumped from. My swimming was lopsided with this ball but I got there, into the cave. Just then the tide came in, the water spun and twisted like river rapids that you see on TV. It pushed me indelicately into the cave, then lifted me up, turned me over and threw me against the cave wall. I held on to that three ball as tightly as I could, with both hands, as the powerful force of the foamy water filled that cave. I was spun so many times that I didn’t know which way was up. My eyes were open but nothing looked like anything recognizable, just white foamy bubbles. I hit the bottom and probably both sides of the cave wall, many times. My back, my arms, my legs, pretty much my whole body was in pain. Then just like that, the tide rolled out. I found myself staggering in chest deep water, gasping for air. It was eerily peaceful as the water gently rolled out. I was about halfway into the cave at that point. I knew I had to get to the back, but before I could move, the tide came in again. I saw it swelling and growing. It was incredibly scary because I knew what was just about to happen to me and there was nothing I could do about it. I just tried to hang on! Boom! It hit again, upside down, sideways, hitting the walls, holding my breath, tossed around like a leaf in a tornado. This time, no matter how much I held tight to that ball, the water was just too strong. The ball was ripped from me and off it went. I was helpless, while being banged around by the powerful foam.

Then the water subsided again. Surely that three ball was long gone but oddly enough, I mean very oddly enough, it was floating, not too far from me. Floating? I never actually tried it but I was certain that billiard balls didn’t float, they’re round rocks. But this was no ordinary pool ball, not anymore anyway, an understatement to be sure. There it was, magically floating just a few feet away. I grabbed it quickly just as the water came in a third time. Because I was now closer to the back, this third beating wasn’t as violent. It was more akin to me, Chrysta and Hannah getting knocked over by waves, which was actually fun, falling on sand. Here, of course, wasn’t fun as I fell back first onto rocks.

By then I was close enough to the back that I slogged the last few feet to safety before the next swell. I held on to the ball and sat on a rock, in a portion of the cave too deep for the water to reach. Off to my left sat Derek. He was in pain too, I could tell. We made it, so far, but now what? Derek looked over at me, he was becoming quite the young leader, I was so proud of him.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yea, why not,” I didn’t know what I was ready for.

Derek walked to one side of the cave, there was an opening, sunlight shone through. That was all good and well, but we were still going to climb up the rocks into the waiting arms of six evil scoundrels, as far as I could tell, but Derek had other plans.

“We’re going to swim under water so they don’t see us, to the left, into the next cave.”

He didn’t wait for me to respond, he craftily slithered through the opening and into the water. And after taking a big breath, I followed. The water was murky but I could see an image of him, enough to follow anyway. After a short swim he popped up and so did I. We were now in another cave, this one with fewer waves. It was difficult swimming while holding that ball, not to mention wearing jeans and shoes. It slowed me down some but I managed.

Inside the cave, and much to my surprise, was a man-made wooden viewing platform. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Why was that here? It was empty at the moment. Derek swam over to it, climbed up on some rocks, pulled himself up on the platform, then climbed over the wooden railing. I was slower but was getting there. Just then Derek yelled to me.

“Hurry!” as he pointed behind me.

I thought that the men had spotted us and were chasing me so I glanced over my shoulder. It wasn’t the men at all but two giant sea lions barreling in on me. I could flick off tiny crabs but these five hundred pound beasts were going to kill me. I couldn’t swim any faster with that ball so without thinking I tossed it to Derek. Everything looked in slow motion as that ball sailed over the railing, Derek’s eyes bugged out as he caught this scary object. With that extra burst of speed, I got to the platform and climbed aboard just barely ahead of the charging sea lions.

Derek quickly gave the ball back to me, it was clearly bothering him. Then he headed back, away from the railing. The wooden platform was wet, probably from an occasional splash and the constant sea mist. At the back end of the platform was a stairway inside of a tunnel. I got it now. Some entrepreneur at one point, probably decades ago, dug this tunnel through rock and built a viewing platform inside one of the caves, probably to make some money. Derek took off up the narrow stairs, with me close behind. The stairs seemed old and the lighting dim, reinforcing the notion that this had been here a long time. We also had to duck our heads a few times but we kept going. I knew we had to get up these stairs fast, before the sea lions in the cave starting barking. It was a tiring climb but we eventually got to the top of the stairs which emptied out into a little shop, selling beachy looking jewelry, postcards and assorted souvenirs. There was a sign at the top of the tunnel stairs bragging that there are 145 steps and that the tunnel was 101 years old. We were dripping wet, in our clothes, and clearly didn’t buy a ticket to go down. The store worker scolded us.

“You can’t do that!” she said.

I felt bad breaking their rules but considering the circumstance, what else could we do? Derek didn’t stop, he went past a Coke machine and straight out the door with me behind him. We were outside, a street directly in front of us, going left and right. To the right was the ocean, where the villains were probably still stationed, waiting for us to climb up from the rocks. To the left, the street went slightly uphill and emptied into a tourist business area, you know, shops and restaurants and the like.

“We lost them,” Derek said, matter-of-factly, “if they knew about the tunnel, they would have jumped in after us, or put someone at the top of the tunnel.”

“Thank you,” I said to my new young hero.

Derek smiled a huge one.

“So how close are we to the cove?” I asked.

Derek’s smile gave way to an odd expression.

“This is the cove, all around us. The caves and even past the caves, there’s a big grassy area where people hang out. This is it. Where are you supposed to go?”

“I have no idea, but we better decide quickly. Those men will be looking for us soon. So those shops and stuff up there, “ I said while pointing left, “is that considered the cove?”

“I don’t think so, that’s more downtown La Jolla. We’re kinda in the middle of the two.” Derek answered.

“That’s what I was afraid of. I think I need to go right to find my task, but those men,” I said while thinking. “I have a plan but I would need your help. I hate to ask…”

Derek quickly interrupted. “Of course! I’m all in! Let’s do this.”

“Okay then. So how was it when you carried this ball?” I asked him.

“Pretty weird, it was freaky scary. It was a strange…”

“I know, it’s hard to explain isn’t it?” I answered for him. “Take off your shirt, hurry.”

Derek quickly complied. There were many shirtless guys around here so it didn’t seem out of place. I took his shirt from him and wrapped the ball in it.

“Here, take the top of the shirt and let the ball kinda dangle. Here try it.”

I handed it to him and he carefully took it.

“That’s okay I think. Still, I feel something but it’s better, Yea, it’s fine,” Derek said.

“Good. If you go left and I go right, can we meet up somehow?” I asked,

“Yea for sure. Uh, I’ll meet you at, let me think. There’s two little gazebo hut things, about halfway in the grassy area, overlooking the ocean. I’ll meet you at the first one, no the second one is better.”

“Perfect. And don’t come back this way...” I added.

“Of course, I’ll go around. I’m on it.”

Derek took off, barefoot, shirtless, carrying an odd looking knapsack. I went right, toward the villains. I wanted them to see me, struggling to walk, it was an act I was putting on. So I staggered along, as if I were dizzy, holding my head. One of them spotted me then they all ran to me, the green hat man in the front, as if he were the leader.

“Where is it!?” he asked me.

I was still feigning woozy, slurring my words and looking out of balance.

“In the cave. That place is deadly. Look at all these scrapes and bruises.”

Of course, that much was true, I looked beat up. I was beat up.

“It was like being in a washing machine. The ball is gone, somewhere, gotta be in that cave.”

“How did you get out?” he asked.

“Oh,” as I continued my performance, rubbing my head and moaning, “There’s uh, uh, back exit. Like a tunnel thing.”

“Where’s that kid?”

“I hit my head really bad. I… I can’t go back in there it’s… death in there.”

“Where’s that kid!?” he asked a second time, angrier than the first.

“Oh him. Huh, he cried like a scared little girl. He ran home to mommy I guess.”

The green hat guy addressed his cohorts.

“Okay, we’ll get some diving gear. We better find it.”

Then he turned back to me.

“I have no more use for you,” he said, essentially xing me off from his existence.

Then he punched me, hard, right in the stomach.

“That’s for the handcuffs,” as he walked off, his friends with him.

I buckled over in pain, my breath was completely knocked out of me. I thought how arrogant, how utterly audacious to slug someone, right out in public, in front of dozens of people, as if no one would say or do anything. And he was right, everyone around was afraid and let them walk away. Now after I fell backwards onto my rump, still trying to remember how to breathe again, a few people came to my aid, but most didn’t. I gathered myself and reassured those nice enough to ask, that I was okay.

I didn’t much like being punched in the stomach but it was a small price to pay to get rid of those intellectual desperados, at least for awhile. I got up and found myself on a sidewalk, traveling downhill and south. The caves were behind me now. Walking in the warm sun was a great way to start drying these wet clothes. And walking through this beautiful area was a great way to sooth my soul. There were nice, beachy restaurants to my left and the ocean to my right. Then past the restaurants were hotels or maybe apartments. Whatever they were, you can rest assured that they were expensive. Then, out of nowhere, next to luxury living were two ridiculously unkempt, dilapidated, boarded up shacks. I had never seen anything so out of place. It must be an illusion, not unlike the wolf. I stared at those two shacks as I continued walking, hoping to figure why I was seeing such a thing. They were scary, like haunted houses. There was something spooky going on there, but why was I seeing it? Nothing jumped out at me but still, I stopped and looked.

When I grew up in Salina there was a big carnival every Halloween. There were all kinds of booths and games and prizes, but the highlight was the haunted house. My friends and I weren’t old enough to go through but we heard stories, some of them surely embellished, but stories nonetheless about how scary it was. You know how stories go when you’re a kid; someone had a heart attack and died or someone else’s brain snapped through the fright and they’re now in a catatonic state in an institution, all because of the haunted house. I think we all knew deep inside that the stories were fake but it was fun to pretend to believe them. Then when we became twelve, we were finally of age, haunted-house-wise. But I was the only one who didn’t go in. I just couldn’t do it. I got teased a little, but mostly no one really cared whether I went in or not. I cared though, my fears, I couldn’t get past them.

I also remember lying at school to those who weren’t with us, telling them how fantastic and scary the haunted house was. I figured it wasn’t much of a lie because certainly I would go through it the next year. Alas, I didn’t go in the next year either, and the year after that and on and on. I still have not gone through that or any other haunted house. I just don’t like being in the dark with things jumping out at me. I should do it though, I really should, maybe next year. Even though it only comes once a year, it is a failure that I carry with me. I shook those thoughts out of my head and started walking again.

I got to the big grassy area that Derek talked about. It looked like a fun place to hang out. There were families, couples and singles, all in various stages of relaxing fun. And this area had a perfect 180 degree view of the ocean, it was spectacular. After walking past picture takers and pleasure seekers, I found the second little viewing hut that was our rendezvous spot. Derek wasn’t there which sent my mind into a paranoid tailspin. Maybe my discernment was wrong and Derek planned this whole thing. Maybe he belonged to another evil troop and he wasn’t coming back at all. Had I been fooled again? Is the red three ball long gone?

The question was answered quickly as here came Derek, walking across the grass, still shirtless, barefoot and holding the shirt away from himself, as far as his twelve year old arms could reach, with a big smile on his face. I smiled back, naturally, not forcedly. He arrived and without speaking, handed me the shirt, happy to be rid of it. I took the ball out, rendering a new symploncy experience. Derek saw it, he knew what was happening. I felt more powerful than I had felt all day, all life. It was a scary sensation.

Derek put his shirt back on and sat down next to me in the little hut. The ocean was beautiful. We looked out at the blue water dropping off at the end of the Earth. We gazed at waves and boats and birds. Then while we sat resting and relaxing awhile we turned toward the grass and enjoyed some peaceful people watching. We needed the break to regroup. The bad guys were on a wild goose chase so we should be safe, for a time. I knew that very soon, though, it would be my time, for… what? For… something.