Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,42

spot a rip current and get out of it. He told me how to turn and go parallel to the shore if you could feel the force of the water pulling you out. He spoke about the ocean with awe and admiration, and stressed that you must always respect its power.

We waded into the water, and the only parts of my body that were cold were my hands and feet. This was going to work nicely, I thought. He showed me how to spot sets of waves, and how to avoid getting smashed by one. The trick was to dive into the wave, getting your body as horizontal as possible so that the force of the water could pass over you. We practiced diving through waves and foam for a while. I found myself laughing with delight. I loved the smell and taste of the water. I started to feel like I belonged in it.

“Ready to go out farther?” Ethan asked, measuring me up.

“Yes!” I grinned. Standing in shallow water he had me practice the front crawl stroke, holding me by the waist. He said it was best for ocean swimming and body surfing. The wet suit made me more buoyant in the water and without the nasty smell of chlorine I had no problem putting my face in. It felt natural, and I picked up the strokes quickly. We waded out into deeper water.

As we swam up and down the coast I began to feel more and more comfortable. The wet suit’s buoyancy became somewhat irritating as I tried to dive under the surface. It kept me from going under, but it made swimming much easier than I remembered.

“Let’s head in,” Ethan said, and we rode the surf back in, allowing the surging water to move us into shore. I launched myself onto the face of a wave and slid along it. It felt great. We walked out of the sea and plopped down onto our towels. Ethan peeled his suit down to his waist and leaned back onto his duffel, arms behind his head. I followed suit. I was pleasantly exhausted and the sun felt good on my skin.

“You’re a fast learner Marina,” Ethan said, “You seem pretty comfortable in the water.”

“I used to hate going to swimming lessons in the city. The pool was indoors and I could never stand the smell of chlorine so I guess I just avoided learning.” I remembered it with distaste, “Saltwater is much better,” I sighed, contented.

“I’d have to agree with that,” he smiled. I met his eyes and his expression turned serious.

“What?” I asked.

Ethan studied my face, “Did you know that your eyes are always the exact same color as the water?”

I looked down, thinking about Lorelei’s eyes. Could they have been my mother’s too? A whisper of melancholy passed through me but I wasn’t going to let it ruin my day. “That was fun,” I said, looking into his eyes, overcome with a sudden boldness, “Would you teach me how to surf sometime?”

He laughed a little, “Sure, I have a feeling you’ll be a natural.” It was my turn to be serious, “Please tell Abby I’m okay now. She won’t let me out of her sight and it’s getting annoying.”

“I will, but one more thing Marina,” his eyes were suddenly intense, “Don’t go swimming around the pier. The currents there are really dangerous...” He stared out at the ocean, brows knit together, “What were you thinking that day?”

I didn’t know what to say so I just looked down again.

He turned back towards me somberly, “Promise to never do that again.”

“It was just a stupid mistake,” I said, remembering how I had climbed around the fence to get to Lorelei. I wondered how I would go about finding her again. “I won’t do that again...

honestly.”

He looked relieved. I was being truthful– next time I would have on a wetsuit and be fine.

There was an awkward pause.

“I have a question,” he said, looking at me intently, “When they brought you to the hospital you were hypothermic, but there was no water in your lungs. They said that was the reason you...

lived,” he forced out the last word and continued on, “But when I pulled you out of the water before, you were nearly drowned. How is that possible?” his eyes searched mine.

I couldn’t think of anything. “I don’t know,” I said, breaking eye contact. There was an uncomfortable pause, “Why do you work so hard all the time? I mean, this