Last night I had a dream I was surfing. I rarely dream about the water, and when I do I dream of sharks. It was during that waking phase, where the dream blends into consciousness. It was the last thing I saw before I woke up, and I don't know where it came from. There was no background, no explanation. The dreams before I wake are so extremely vivid and intricate with emotions. They drag me into their story till I wake from adrenaline. No questions are left unasked or unanswered in those dreams. But this was a very simple dream. It was just seconds long, and all I saw were my feet. I was looking down and watched as I stepped back. The wave was rising to my hips. I saw my feet slide the board forward from under me, down the face as the wave was pitching. I watched deliberate steps back. This has never happened to me. It's always a shuffle or a stumble to the tail. All I felt was stoke. I woke up with a memory that didn't belong to me. My day began and the dream vanished.
I paddled out this afternoon. It was a small crowd for Saturday. I paddled up the inside and took the first wave that came. Pop up, go right. It wasn't the steps forward that counted, but the steps back. Blue water pitched, rising faster. The board slid down the moving face. I moved with it. The wave ended where my paddle began. All I felt was stoke.
