When the surf breaks

It breezes in as you forget about the fortress walls that keep you fenced within the safe zone. It’s so powerful that it propels you to brave the seven seas right then and there. It’s so sly that it impels you to ride the waves without the slightest idea of getting off the board when balance is lost.

A couple of times, you get hit by your own surfboard. You jump too soon and you miss the chance of a full ride. You jump too late and you may find yourself shoved into the sand. But surviving all the slips and slaps, you finally learn the right time to jump away from your board, or keep riding till you’re near the shore.

It takes you by surprise, takes advantage of your desire for adventure. It makes you want to go straight into the waters at the height of the sun’s vigor sans the sunscreen. It becomes too inviting all of a sudden, and you become overwhelmed by the fact that you’ve been out for too long. You get all sunburned, but you don’t mind because you glide through the waves with all the excitement in your heart, with no worries of drowning nor getting hurt.

You never know what kind of wave will draw near to chase at your heels. Ankle-biters are your friends. Then sometimes crunchers come raging behind you, making you palpitate, giving you butterflies, leading you to be confused: Is what you’re feeling thrill or fear? At the end of every trip from the shallow depths to the peripheries, you’re left with mixed feelings and you’re sure it’s more of passion.

The surf is about to break again, and it’s your cue to keep paddling to catch it. You get ready for the exhilarating ride that promises not merely euphoria but outright risk. You ride freely, trying to get full control of the unpredictable forces. Then the wave breaks. It’s over. You jump away and find your way to the safety of the shore as fast as you can, to escape the pull of the ocean.

It’s up to you if you’d start over and not give up, till you sift flawlessly through the water or stay within the limits you aimlessly set to hold you back.

With all the successful jaunts, stirring splurges, and dangerous drops that turn out to be a concoction of lessons, I’d do it all over again. But this time, I’ll be more careful and keen to make the ride all worth it.

Beach lover Haly Idiesca Obar, 22, says this is her story about her “surf through the sea called love.” She is a communication graduate of the University of the Philippines Baguio and holds an online tutoring job.