The wind was howling in my ears as I walked toward the beach. Goosebumps were already forming on my skin from the cold. The clouds blocked most of the sun casting shadows across the beach. These ominous signs clearly showed a storm was coming. There was no chance of getting an umbrella into the ground. Whenever we tried it would get blown away. The sand was wet and cool from earlier showers and my parents debated on whether to leave or stay. They argued over several topics until they came to their senses and asked the kids to choose whether to stay or leave. I thought for a while and assessed my decisions. Meanwhile my brothers had voted against each other. I thought about the temperature and how everyone would feel. Then I turned around.

I turned around and saw the ocean. When I saw the ocean there was beauty. The sunlight was reflecting off the surface of Poseidon’s kingdom. Then I saw the waves. They were huge. They towered over any other ones I’d seen before. They were a surfers dream. I just had to ride them. The way they came crashing down was just perfect. At that moment my mind was made up. Today I was going to bodysurf on these giant monsters. I told my mom and she said we could stay.

Once everyone was settled we went to our various activities. I stayed behind with my cousin. He was a junior in college and an All-American lacrosse player and looked really bored just sitting there in his chair. He was reading a book, I couldn’t tell what it was, but it didn’t seem to interest him. He kept glancing up every few seconds and surveying his surroundings then he eventually fell asleep and took a short nap. During this time, I built sand castles and played with my little brothers. When my cousin finally woke up, I asked him “Do you want to go into the water?” “Sure,” he replied. Then we dashed into the ocean.

At first my cousin and me stayed in at about ankle deep and just talked. Then we went a little deeper and let the cool water wash over us. We tried to walk on our knees and went outreally deep until we went under water. Then we stood up and let the water filter over our bodies. Then we played with our Waboba ball for a little while and watched it ski over the water. Every time it bounced water flew out from underneath it. It was one of the coolest things I had ever played with and it really helped the day go by much faster. Even with all the fun I was having I wanted to go out farther so we left the Waboba ball and went out.
As we went out the ocean was much deeper and the waves were a lot bigger. I started to struggle but decided to keep going. It was fun, so why turn back? My cousin kept a watchful eye on me as I progressed. Whenever I started to go under, he would pull me up. A few times he suggested that we go back but I dismissed these ideas as nonsense.

When we were far enough out we decided to play over under. We played for a while. He would call "Over" then I would try to hop over waves. When he called "Under" I would skillfully dive under these great giants. This was fun but I needed to go out further.

As I forged further ahead it got deeper and deeper. Eventually I tried to stand but I couldn't so my cousin let me rest on his back. He looked up at the sky. I knew he was going to suggest to go in and call it a day, but I didn't want to go in, so I quickly swam off his back and kept going. As I forged ahead I soon lost sight of my cousin behind the waves but I knew that he would be there following me. I got to a point where I thought it might be a little more shallow and tried to stand. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stand. I saw my cousin a few waves back at the crest of the wave and dropping down. "Maybe it's time to go back," I thought.

I turned around and saw the people on the beach. They looked like ants crawling around. A few of them looked as if they were waving me back in. I looked around and didn't see anybody. I tried to touch the bottom but couldn’t without going under. Even when I went under, it took a while before I finally felt the wet dense sand under my toes. When I got to the surface, I looked at the sky and saw the darkness moving even closer than before. I saw the people waving me in and now it even sounded as if they were calling my name. Now would definitely be a good time to go in.

I tried to turn back and swim in but I couldn't. It felt as if I was being dragged back further. I tried to swim to the side but I couldn't. I wasn't strong enough to break the current. It was pulling me under but I kept coming back up. I was fighting for air. Then at the worst possible moment the clouds opened up. The rain poured down, obscuring my vision and making it hard to see the people on the beach. I kept bobbing up and down, gasping for air every time I got to the top. But I was growing tired and I couldn't hold on for much longer. Then I heard splashing and hoped that someone was near. Then all my energy left me and I went under.

Almost as soon as I went under, I felt someone drag me up. I came up and gasped for air. I saw my cousin carrying me toward land. I started to relax then I looked up at the sky and saw the rain had stopped. The clouds had passed us and a beautiful blue sky was above me a few times on the way back my cousin almost let go but he always caught me and picked me up again. Then my cousin dragged me onto the beach.

When my cousin got back everyone started swarming him. You could tell they were extremely happy. My mom started crying and made me promise not to ever go that far out again. My parents promised each other never to let us swim when there was not a lifeguard on duty ever again. Our joyful reunion was short lived though. More storm clouds started to pass over us and we heard thunder crackle. We rushed to get everything packed up, and moved off the beach as fast as we could.