(F&R) Soulsurfer , page 1

Upon coming out of the building, rays of light stung his eyes. He waited a few minutes for his vision to adjust before leaving the building. Not knowing where to go, he randomly took a left turn and headed towards the park. Inside the park he sat down on a bench as he watched kids playing with their parents.

Memories of his childhood flooded mind, while they weren't always pleasant, some memories he cherished till this day. There he stayed for several hours, watching the birds fly overhead and the swaying of the trees.

On his way back to his apartment around four in the afternoon, right before crossing the road, a pickup truck passed him by, dropping a seven foot, slim object covered in a red cloth. After watching the sides for any incoming cars, he grabbed the object from the street and carried it to the side of the road. Untying the knot, he uncovered the red cloth revealing a brand new surfboard, straight out of the store.

Not knowing what to do, he waited an hour for the owner to return. After the hour passed he decided to take it to the local police department to report a lost and found. Upon his arrival however, he encountered a big sign; "Moved to another location."

Now fed up, David took the board to his apartment and thought he might as well keep it. During the night, he gazed at the board and began to remember his surfing days.
"Oh how free I felt during those days." he thought to himself.

The reflection to his past, triggered moments he shared with his family and friends. The sudden thought hit him; he was all alone and there was no one there to care. This was the road he had chosen, to not let anyone else worry about his despair. In his mind, he thought it was the right thing to do, sparing others from the pain of loss. But he realized, he was doing something much worse. He was being selfish by taking away the possibilities of granting them fond memories with him.

The next morning, he got up and cleaned his apartment. He took down the plastics that were previously preventing any light to enter the room from outside. In the bathroom he scrapped the dried off blood from the floor after sweeping it clean from any shards left from the mirror he shattered awhile back.

The following week, he contacted his family and friends to let them know what was going on, while the news weighed heavily on them. All was forgiven with the condition that he had to stay in contact with them while he still had breath in him. Only his ex-girlfriend Rebecca became hard to contact. Many times he tried to call only to have her hang up. He sent her letters, but got no reply. After the futile attempts, he thought perhaps it was for the best.

He later spent time with his family who continuously took pictures of him for the family album; they all stood together behind him in one shot which he would later take home and hang it on his wall.

The night before going to the beach, David walked into the bar and saw the bartender who was signaling to him. He approached the bartender with a kind smile.

"I just came to say thank you." he said.

The bartender looked at him strangely.
"A thank you for what?" he said with a smile.

"You know what I mean." He said.
The bartender, still acting confused.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. I am but a mere bartender." he said with an acknowledging smile. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"yes." said David, "Yes I did. Thank you."

He shook hands with the bartender, before making his way out of the bar.

Back at his apartment he saw a blank sheet of paper spread out on top of his desk. After pondering, he sat down and began to write throughout the night.