Beach Vibes

I was already in a great mood, but as I step out of the car, the warmth from the sun hits my face and I feel even better.

I close my eyes, inhale deeply and take it all in: a perfectly hot summer’s day, a gentle breeze, just enough to take the edge of the heat off, and the ideal place for our third date.

I turn to Joel. “It’s a great day for the beach!”

“Yeah, it’s a beautiful day.”

As we start our walk down to the sand dunes, I reach out and grab his hand. I feel an explosive flutter in my heart and a spread of warmth moves throughout my body. I think I have the confidence to do anything as long as I’m holding Joel’s hand.

We approach the dunes. Joel lets go of my hand and starts walking ahead.

“This bit can be a bit tricky. Follow me.”

He starts walking carefully through the vegetation.

I try to follow, but after my first few steps I stumble and fall.

Joel quickly races to help me up.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he says as he takes my hand and pulls me up.

I start feeling those warm sensations again. The heat rises to my cheeks. I hope he hasn’t noticed how scarlet they are.

He lets go of my hand and starts walking again. “Try to put your feet exactly where I put mine.”

I give it another go, carefully following him, but I still feel the scrub scratching and clawing at my ankles.

“Why isn’t there a proper pathway here?”

“When I first discovered this spot, it was a little secluded beach, but over time it’s become more popular. There’s a bit of a divide at the moment. Half the locals want a pathway put in and the other half don’t want to disturb the vegetation on the dunes. I think there will be a few more council meetings before we work out what’s going to happen.”

“But this is a safe beach, right?”

“Oh yeah, for sure. It’s patrolled by lifeguards now and it even has a shark net.” He turns to me and smiles, “Besides, I’ll keep you safe.”

My palms are clammy with sweat and it’s not from the heat. How is this guy so perfect? I think I’m really falling for him.

We finally make it across and down to the sand. I stop to catch my breath as I take in the view. “Okay, the walk was definitely worth it.”

The white sand is like a fine powder, soft beneath my toes. The crystal-clear blue water of the ocean shimmers under the sun. I hear a soft whump-whump-whump overhead as a helicopter patrols for sharks.

“I’ll show you where I like to sit,” he says as he walks towards the Surf Rescue tower. “This spot is perfect. It’s shaded partly by the tower. You can sit in the shade, then when you need to warm up, you just roll this way a little and you’re in the sun.”

“You’ve got this all worked out.”

“Well, I want today to be special.” He flashes me a cheeky smile, showing off his immaculate white teeth.

I let out a nervous giggle and then immediately regret it, thinking how ridiculous I must sound.

We spread out our towels and lie down in the shade. Joel’s lying with his head down, so I take a moment to admire the view while he’s not looking. You can tell he goes to the beach a lot. His skin is bronze-kissed by the sun and his short, wavy hair is bleached from hours of surfing. As I lie down, I catch the scent of his skin, nutty, sweet and slightly salty as his coconut sun lotion mixes with his sweat. A gentle breeze blows past and I watch goosebumps break out across his skin. My skin starts tingling at the sight.

I try to relax for a few minutes, but I have butterflies in my stomach and my head feels light. I decide to go for a swim to cool off.

“I’m going to go for a quick swim; do you want to join me?”

“Do you mind if I stay here and close my eyes for 10 minutes? My son kept me up half the night. I’m so happy he’s at his mum’s for the weekend.”

“Sure.”

I thought dating someone with kids might bother me, but the fact that he’s a single dad just makes him hotter.

Slipping off my dress, I take a moment to admire how my new one-piece clings to my voluptuous curves in just the right way. I definitely made the right decision buying it for today. I walk down to the water with a smile on my face. This is already shaping up to be the perfect day.

As the chill of the ocean hits my toes, I jump back a little. No matter how hot the day, I still always get a shock when my skin first touches the water. I brace myself and run in.

My body quickly adjusts to the first frosty bite and I decide to take the final step and put my head under. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and sink under the water.

I stay under for a minute, enjoying a moment of solitude with the rhythmic murmur of water whooshing around my ears.

Finally, I need to take a breath, so I come back up.

As I emerge, the world looks distorted as water beads on my contact lenses. I rub my eyes, but the world is still distorted.

The first thing I notice is the sand; it’s a brilliant amethyst colour.

I’ve had problems with my contact lenses before, but this is a new issue.

I look up for a second and blink a few times. That’s when I catch sight of the helicopter flying overhead. It looks exactly the same as before. But as my eyes come into focus, I realise it’s flying upside down.

Am I imagining this?

Deciding there has to be a logical explanation, I wade my way out of the water. As I approach the purple sand, I notice it’s no longer powdery and is now harsh and gritty.

The thrumming in my ears that started underwater hasn’t gone away.

Looking around, I see that everything else looks the same. People look normal and are still going about their day as if nothing has changed. The Surf Rescue tower is still there, and I can spot my towel lying in the shade. Breaking out into a sprint, I make my way back to Joel and my towel... except Joel isn’t there.

My heart starts racing as a feeling of dread passes over me. Something’s really not right here. This is too weird. I must be dreaming. I sit down for a minute and try to catch my breath. Remembering I have a water bottle in my bag, I reach for it and start searching around. Finally, my hand touches a cool, metallic object. I take it out, remove the lid and take a large gulp of water.

As the liquid hits the back of my throat, my body reacts immediately, spitting it back out.

That wasn’t water. It tasted tangy, sour and had a slight burn like it was acidic.

With trembling hands, I put the bottle back in my bag. My chest starts to tighten and I want to cry, but I know that’s not going to help me get out of this situation. I sit on my towel and try to relax my muscles.

Wondering if I should ask for help, I notice a family sitting next to me. They have a small child, a toddler. He’s crying and asking if he can go back in the water.

“Not now, I’m not ready,” the father yells.

“But please, Dad.”

“No. Stop crying... or else.”

The toddler continues crying.

I hear a loud screeching noise as the father lifts his head back and opens his mouth. A large, lizard-like tongue emerges and extends. The pulsing, grey appendage reaches the child, curls around him, lifts him off the ground and retracts back into his mouth.

Horrified, I quickly look away. My gaze moves to the Surf Rescue tower and I realise it’s not exactly the same as before. It no longer says, “Surf Rescue.” It now says, “Supply Tower.” A small child runs around the deck, giggling and laughing.

The humming in my ears gets louder.

Wondering if there’s any chance Joel’s car is still in the car park, I pick up my bag and towel and make my way back to the dunes. As I approach the sand dunes, I notice the vegetation looks different... almost shiny. I bend down to take a closer look.

Yes, the scrub has changed. Each blade of grass, each branch, is made from metal, jagged and rusting from the sea breeze. I notice another group of people walking through it towards the beach. They’re walking normally, having no issues with the metal pieces. Remembering how scratched my ankles became walking through it the first time, when it was just normal vegetation, I decide to try and find another way.

The harsh grinding in my ears is now like a scream that seems to be echoing throughout my entire body.

Something inside me tells me I don’t have much time left.

I start walking along the beach trying to find a footpath back up to the road. After I’ve been walking for about five minutes with no luck, I turn around to see how far I’ve come.

And the Supply Tower is right there.

It’s like I haven’t moved at all.

At a loss on what to do, I spread my towel out again and sit down.

The screaming in my ears has now become so intense, it's like a migraine. My vision is blurry, I feel nauseated and I can hardly think.

My skin is starting to burn too. I think I’m getting sunburnt.

I put my hand on my shoulder to try and cool the burn. As I take my hand away, a large piece of skin sloughs off.

I quickly flick it away in a panic.

Okay, I really am running out of time now.

Trying to work out what to do, I look around.

And that’s when I realise that, so far, the water in the ocean is the only thing that hasn’t changed. It looks the same, it felt the same.

Maybe, just maybe, if I go back out there and put my head under again, I’ll come back up and everything will be normal.

I’ve got to give it a try.

As I stand up, I’m hit with a massive head spin. It takes a few moments for me to right myself.

I can barely walk; my legs are heavy.

I fall back down to the sand and start crawling. I’m mainly using my arms to pull myself along, my legs are just about useless now.

My vision has almost completely gone. It’s like I’m looking through a tiny pinhole, but I keep dragging.

I have some relief as my fingertips touch the cool water. I pull myself a bit further and I’m finally able to float. I feel a huge weight lift.

With no time left to waste, I take a deep breath, close my eyes and sink under.

The heavy thrumming drops to a dull roar. I stay under as long as I can, almost too scared to come back up and see where I am.

Finally, I can’t hold my breath any longer and I slowly emerge.

I’ve had my hands over my eyes the entire time. I part my fingers and peek between them...

I spot that fine, powdery white sand. All the muscles in my face relax and I drop my hands.

I remember my shoulder and one hand quickly moves back to feel it. Just an ordinary shoulder, all skin intact, no sunburn.

Wading out of the water, I spot the Surf Rescue tower back to normal again. I see Joel’s towel under it and I break into a run.

Joel’s fast asleep, a cute little smile on his face.

As I sit down, his eyes slowly open.

“Sorry, I must have fallen asleep... are you ok?”

“I dunno, something weird just happened.”

“Yeah, I had the weirdest dream too. All I remember is… purple… and… you. You were in danger; I was so worried about you.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet. I’m okay now, I think. I just had a strange experience, but my memory is so foggy. It’s like a nightmare that I’m starting to forget now that it’s all over.”

“I’m starving. Can I take you out for lunch?”

And just like that, those familiar butterflies in my tummy return, but this time I’m not so sure it’s from the romance.