The Storm

The wind howled around the outside of the house kicking up clouds of debris and the old limbs and leaves, that had unwillingly been snatched from the surrounding trees. I watched from my bedroom window, a smile etched on my face, to a nine year old boy, a storm such as this was a mighty force that oft inspired awe, as opposed to fear. I watched as if it was one of the moving pictures mom would take me to see in town, at the theater on Sundays. Dad wasn't around much, but I was okay with that, he was a sea captain, and he was the strongest most brave man I knew. He was out at sea that day, I knew he would be okay. I sat there, staring past the rain, dripping from the upper edge of my window sill, out to the great blue sea; you could tell that she was angry. I wondered if she could see me up here looking down at her? Our house was perched atop a great hill overlooking the sea to one side, and the small village, low in the valley behind me. As the minutes passed, her icy blue hands seemed to reach higher and higher up the cliff side, Dads okay I calmly reminded myself.

A moment later a knock at the door pulled me from my silent vigil. "Hey sweetie, you okay up here?" It was mom, I nodded, a smug smile forming on my face, " Daddy says the sea likes to test men, remind us who she is", She laughed, "you two are so alike, why don't we see if we can reach him by radio?" I jumped to my feet, racing past the doorway, down the creaking wooden stairs, to the closet under them where we kept dads old radio and antenna, "be careful Isaac" came a shout from the top of the stairs. I reached in to dads drawer, pulling out his rain coat, it was far too big but at least it would keep me dry.
I grabbed the antenna and opened the door, struggling against the pull of the wind. The door slammed behind me and it was just us out there... me, the storm, and that crazy sea. I zipped up dads raincoat, the sleeves reaching past my hands, and the tail trailing along on the ground behind me. With a sigh of determination me and that rain coat wadded out into the raging abyss, antenna in tow. As if sensing a challenge to her might, the storm seemed to increase twofold, pelting rain, and roaring winds guiding me closer and closer to the edge on which our house was perched. Mom had said something about this being the biggest storm on record, but small storm or large storm it made no difference to me I was going to win this test.

I planted my feet as firmly as I could into the soft ground, lifting the antenna high above my head, intending to strike it deep into the earth, a testament to this storm, I was stronger than her. As I stood there smiling in my triumph, a large boom echoed in defiance, she would not relinquish her position so easily. A strong gust of wind came then, lifting the antenna high out of my hands. The antenna crashed only yards away from falling forever into the depths below. The sea ever hungry, lapped up the mountainside licking the edges of the rocky outcrop like a crazed wolf waiting to pounce upon its prey. I clinched my fists, sea spray catching me in the face, steadily making my way to the antenna, caught between the raging storm and the maddened sea.

"Isaaaaac!", I glanced behind me, mother was halfway through the doorway, barely able to hold the door from ripping completely from the frame. I closed my eyes and turned back to the task at hand, I had to get the antenna, daddy needed me to get the antenna. I inched my way, closer and closer to the small sliver of metal poking from the rocks amid a mess of debris. Then it happened, all at once, a large powerful wave over took the mighty cliff, catching me in its strong current, I reached for something, anything, but nothing returned in my grasp but handfuls of seawater. I was going to go over, over the edge into the belly of the sea, but something happened that I did not expect, something grabbed me, and held strong. The Sea had lost her grip on me, and the angry, white water, began to return from whence it came. As the water began to recede, I slowly started to slump lower and lower until I was hanging there upside down in the cold stormy air. Dads rain jacket, much to large for me had snagged onto the metal pole of the antenna. I saw mom running out then, frantically trying to reach me before the sea gained the strength to try again. I hung there upside down for those few seconds looking up into the swirling abyss of the storm above me, I had won, I had beat the sea at her challenge, well, dad helped a little too, I couldn't wait to tell him.