"Are you ready for your birthday surprise?"

"So the barbecue wasn't the surprise then?"

Mikaal laughed. "You already know the answer to that."

"Do you have to go to these lengths? I'll keep my eyes closed."

He was holding her from behind, his trim chest against her back, his muscular arms encircling her while his hands covered her eyes. "Maybe I just like being close to you."

It was Dalia's turn to laugh, rolling her eyes beneath her shut eyelids.

They walked slowly, awkwardly, inching closer and closer to the roar of the waves crashing onto the shore. Finally, Mikaal lifted his hands and stepped back, allowing Dalia to take in what he had planned.

"Oh my God!" In front of her were two white surfboards that looked like they had been well-loved, scratches on the edges. In addition, two black wetsuits hung over the wooden fence that separated the sand from the bushy surrounds. "I've always wanted to do this!"

Mikaal beamed, his white teeth stretching from ear to ear. "It's not the ideal board to learn with, but I don't have a mini-mal anymore."

"Mini what?"

Mikaal chuckled. "Mini-mal—it's a soft-board, better for beginners. This is a shortboard. The centre is foam but it's covered with layers of a fibreglass cloth. So it's going to be a lot harder to learn on, but we're only going to learn how to stand up. We can buy you a mini-mal later if you enjoy today."

Dalia wiggled her shoulders, the excitement energising her. "Let's do this!"

"Now don't get too carried away yet. You have to be extra careful with this board..."

-.-.-

Dalia coughed, heaved, gasped for air. Her head throbbed from the recollection. She tried to steady her breathing as another wave of visions filled her mind. Her heart pounded harder against her chest. The pulsations sent tremors to her cold hands that sensed they were closer to a feared truth.

-.-.-

"This is way harder than it looks!" Dalia said, trying to project her voice over the sound of the crashing waves as she lay on her board. Her chest was pressed against the hard surface. Her toes were curled and pointed forwards just in front of the bottom end. Her arms waded in the water on either side while Mikaal held her board steady, the water chest level.

"Remember, paddle, paddle, paddle then push straight up with strong arms."

"Easy for you to say!"

He kissed her ankle reassuringly, sending tingles up her leg.

"Stop it! You'll rattle me!"

He laughed before looking behind him for the right wave. "Okay, a good one's coming. You'll feel the push of the current—keep paddling until you feel like you're riding it, then push up onto your feet."

Dalia's heart pounded—the first four attempts were a complete fail. "I forgot what I do with my feet again..."

"Make a forty-five-degree angle. Position them wider than your shoulders. Most importantly, weight on your front foot, not back, otherwise the board will tip backwards." He turned once more, giving her board a push as he said, "Okay, here it comes!"

-.-.-

Dalia realised she had screamed out loud, her head in her hands, her eyes squeezed shut to block the memory that overcame her.

Yet against her will, she relived the moment all the same, the visions so vivid.

The board had slipped from under her—she had leaned back instead of forwards. She was in the water, but it wasn't like the first four times she had fallen in. She had struggled to reclaim her surfboard in spite of the leg rope strapped to her ankle that linked her to it. She remembered her exhausted legs, her flailing arms growing weaker and weaker as it fought a strong current.

Then there was a surge up, a large wave drawing its breath before something hard hit her head.

And her name; it was called over and over while she was in a semi-conscious state. The hoarse voice grew more and more faint before she gave in to the elements and everything went black.

'A rip...' She remembered now, too late, Mikaal's warning about what surfers called a 'rip'—when water flows out to sea at a very strong rate where it's almost impossible to swim against, making it dangerous for beginner surfers and weak swimmers. And then there were his repeated reminders to protect her head with her arms whenever she was off her board...

As if these memories were the key to turning the hands of time backwards, she found herself remembering everything from the very start.

The day she had met Mikaal; the feelings that had blossomed over the activities he had organised to help her get over Blake. She remembered the good times, the love they shared right through to that fateful dinner before her birthday—the critical memory her subconscious had tried to remind her of through the recurring dream.

Dalia shivered, curled into a ball, her arms wrapped around her trembling knees, wet from both her tears and the pelting rain. Her eyes wept endlessly, the rivers pouring down her cheeks. She cried both in sadness and happiness—happy to finally know the unadulterated truth, yet sad for...

She couldn't make them stop, her face soaked both from the heavy rain mixed with her salty tears.

She cried, not from her brush with death, but rather for the time she had lost, for the time they had lost.

Buzz! Tap!

She ignored her devices at first, but when she saw Ardelle's name on the display of her watch, she quickly pressed the green answer button.

"Dalia?"

She quietly composed herself in silence as she switched the call to her iPhone.

"Dalia, are you there?" Ardelle asked in a confused tone.

When she felt she could finally speak normally, she said, "Yes, hey, what's up?"

"The records came. You did have an accident at Scarborough Beach. It was a—"

"Surfing accident?" Dalia finished.

"Yes! You had another flashback?"

"Yeah... I remember everything now. Falling in the water. Being hit on the head by, I guess, the surfboard. Nearly drowning." Her tone was surprisingly nonchalant.

"Actually, my dear, it's more serious," Ardelle interjected, her tone gentle.

Dalia's forehead creased. "How?"

Ardelle drew in a long breath and exhaled loudly before saying, "You actually did drown. You were pronounced dead at 4:00 pm December 5th last year."

---

Woohoo!! You made it!!! Finally, the truth arrives!!!!!

Well, almost all of it... until next week ;-)

Thanks so so much for your support up until now. It means so so so much!

Back to writing for me :D

Much love,

-Noelle