Everyone is bored…
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Having worked for a news organization in my previous life, I decided to return to Nuan Bay to see if there remained any evidence of my previous night’s discovery. Alas, the high tide of the ocean had washed it all away or the sand had been turned after the deed was completed. Either way, not a trace remained. I did, however, want to warn the woman who was sunning herself on the beach about what had been sitting on the beach 12 hours ago in the exact spot where she now sat.
I’ve grown restless in what I’ve come to view as a paradise prison. I’ve explored the island, gotten as much sun as I, a pasty white dude, wishes get, grown tired of the sand and am now finding boredom to be my adversary. I awoke multiple times during the night and had trouble returning to slumber. I was a little after 10am that I couldn’t take any more of my reading in the confined room where Craig and Jim continued to sleep. I took a stroll on the beach and found a quiet cafe’ porch on which to read. I drank tea in the peacefulness for the next hour. I decided I should probably search for the others as they were no doubt wondering what had happened to me.
I found them under the roofed area of our frequented beach restaurant. Everyone was reading and enjoying a nice brunch… and that was how we spent most of the day. That evening, we ate at a new restaurant and Craig had the spiciest curry we’d tried since we arrived. It was painfully funny to watch him down the meal.
Craig was determined to finish the curry... even if it killed him.
Jimbo tried it too.
Congratulations... Craig finally finished it.
It was also determined during the meal that we would head back to the mainland the next day as restlessness abounded amongst the entire group.
The ladies decided to retire to their room, but the men had different plans… at least Jim and I. As part of the male-bonding experience, Jim had suggested we go for a night swim, or nuchin’ as we renamed it. Craig refused to take part because he had cut his foot earlier in the day and didn’t want the ocean water to hurt it. That’s how Craig became the recipient of the “male bonding shun”.
Jim and I made our way to a quiet beach, away from the hustle and bustle of the restaurant row on all the other beaches. We sat on the rocks and talked a little about the trip so far and watched the couple that was awkwardly walking around on the beach nearby. I eventually made the connection that the guy was probably trying to propose to the girl, but we were really killing the secluded vibe of the moment. This became known as our “nuchin’ standoff”. How long could the two parties holdout before one left. Jim and I were in it for the long haul and we finally won the title of “Kings of the Beach”.
Then, with the nearly full moon above us, we strode into the water. It was a great night for a swim and the atmosphere seemed to reiterate the calm relaxation of the evening. I’m not a big fan of salt water, so I just planned to get in and just stand upright or float that night. As we walked into the water, I kept touching what felt like seaweed or a school of fish brushing past my hands and legs. Jim took a seat in the water and I got out to about chest level and stopped. The entire time the organisms in the water never seemed to leave us alone. I pulled my hand out of the water to look at the seaweed and shake it off. When my hand came out of the water… nothing. I looked into the water and even with the moonlight illuminating to the floor of the ocean, I still couldn’t see anything in the water. Suddenly, as if by flashback recall, I remembered a conversation a random stranger was having near our table that night. It sparked a shocking and horrifying realization and the truth finally dawned on me.
JELLYFISH… Thousands of baby jellyfish!!!
I yelled the terrifying news to Jim and we both took off at full speed out of the water, man-screaming the entire way. Since I was farther out, it was a longer sprint back to the shore. My body was mostly free of the danger-infested water. The only thing still submerged were my legs from the knees down. I was about to emerge unscathed from the nightmare I was standing in when suddenly, the nightmare got worse and a giant wave rolled in… bringing the water back up to my hips. Wave after wave kept hitting me, as if the ocean was telling me it was never letting me go! Each wave brought another wave of jellyfish and it seemed like an eternity. Every moment that passed, my heart jumped with the fear that I would be the recipient of one painful sting after another.
And then, as if by a miracle, I made it to the shore and turned in defiance, screaming at the ocean, “NOT THIS TIME!!!”
Okay… so maybe the screaming at the ocean isn’t entirely… at all true. But I did finally catch up to Jim who was standing on the beach, nervously laughing as we recalled the amazing feat we’d just experienced. We looked down and in the moonlight saw the beach’s tideline glistening with the small gelatinous forms lying in the sand. We walked back to the room, but not before noticing the couple we’d seen before standing in the wooded area at the edge of the beach. We could only imagine the laugh they got at the sight of us running and screaming as we exited the water. I figured it’d be a story for the grandkids as they recount the story of the night they got engaged in Thailand.
But we didn’t care. From the epic throes of death, Jim and I had emerged and formed a new brotherhood… the Brotherhood of the “Nuchers”… and Craig isn’t in it!!!
The brotherhood is formed... and Craig slept right through it. LOSER!!!