from tyler gibb Once I'd paddled out, the waves crapped out and I was left lapping in the fetch while the sun softened the wax on my board until it ran.   I elevated myself on my elbows and stared deeply at the aquatic horizon. Disappointment. The sea is just bizarre that way sometimes.   I flipped myself like a streak on a grill and faced the relentless ball of fire in the sky. I lay my left arm over my eyes and just baked my skin for a while. I thought about all the things I normally think about in bed at night while lucidity slowly floats away into the ceiling of my room.   I thought about a documentary film I'd seen once about all those American soldiers who'd been subject to nearly ground zero atomic explosions. I heard a man tell how the light from the blast was so intense that the goggles he was wearing were no protection. He told of how he shielded his eyes with his arm, the way I am now, and could see right through it. He could see the bones of his forearm through his flesh as though he were holding a film slide up to the light.   I switched arms, left to right, squinting my eyes. I let my fingers dangle in the water.   I once heard that if the sun were to suddenly go out, it would take about eight minutes before we'd know about it on account of the speed at which photons of light travel through space. I wonder what I'd do in that eight minutes if I somehow knew about the inbound darkness.   It's so hot out here. I almost nodded off. I checked the shore line. I've been drifting. I check the distance again. No sign of another swell. It was time to head in. Being under the scorching rays this long was not healthy. I turned over again onto my chest and eased my arms into the water.   That's when I saw it move. I stopped dead in my motion to paddle. I stared into the deep water which was clear under my shadow. It was much longer than my seven foot surf board, I was sure of what I was looking at though I'd never seen one before. It swayed it's tail again and was still.   I was floating perhaps eight feet above a monstrous sand tiger shark.   I knew very little about these creatures save for the fact that as far as sharks went they were larger than most and indigenous to the deeper waters off this Eastern Coast. I must have drifted further than I'd thought. I'd heard something else about this species and that was that unlike other sharks they did not have to keep moving constantly in order to breathe. They had the ability to float in place. And that's exactly what this particular beast was doing right below me.   I gently retracted my arms from the water. I couldn't take my eyes of the thing. The sunlight through the rippling surface of the water was patterning it's back with a network of shifting light. It swayed its tail meditatively and I stared in hypnotic terror.   Sharks respond to the sound of splashing, swimming and paddling and they have excellent olfactory capabilities. Atop my board I crouched and bent my knees to keep my feet out of the water. I would have to wait it out.   Minutes passed. Occasionally I would steal a glance away from the shark to examine the horizon. Still no sign of any incoming waves that I could hop on and ride out of this dangerous area. Which didn't really matter since I was too far out to be lined up with the breakers had their been any. I looked to the beach and there was not another person to be seen. Only my truck parked near the grass covered sand bank.   My sinuses suddenly felt like they were running. It was like I had to blow my nose. I sniffled quietly as I was not sure how well sharks could hear. That's when I could taste the blood. >>