Wind Doth Blow

Wind doth blow
She lay there, flat on her back. Going with the rhythm. It was both reassuring and terrifying in almost equal parts.
The feeling took her body and her mind. It left nothing behind. It changed her but she emerged unscathed.
The whole performance required precision planning. Surely, far more planning, she thought, than was necessary for such a simple act, an act that had begun before man and would likely continue forever. The clothes were important but she was sure that these were a modern addition. Previous generations would have done it unadorned. She wasn’t sure that the outfit was flattering but if that was what it took to keep her safe she would wear it.
But she wasn’t actually sure that it was safe anyway. She knew that people worried about her doing this alone – but it was hardly something you took a friend with you was it?
What she did know was that she needed this. She needed the validation, she needed the knowledge that she could push herself, that she could endure. Some said it was brave, others that it was foolhardy. Most marvelled that a woman of her age could still do it.
The lead up was almost the best part. The need to psyche herself up, to tell herself that she could do it. That she still had it, that she wasn’t too old. Taking off her clothes in front of people was never her thing, and stripping down to what she regarded as the ‘tools of the trade’ was very intimate. But she had to admit to the joy. The daring of it. The sheer audacity.
The entry was shocking and predictable. It always made her gasp. But as the rhythm took her she relaxed. The worst was done. It had begun. In the beginning was the end, once again she would make it through. She could mark it up on her chart. Another one conquered.
‘Bit windy today wasn’t it love?’ he said as he peered over the wall. She was never sure if they admired her or thought her mad. Sometimes she would ask them to zip her up. They didn’t know whether to look away or just to gawp.
The women got it though. They always got it. They shared their thoughts and took strength from her. There was hope for them too. They would not join the masses at the bottom. Not for them the invisibility of the cloak of age.
It was windy today, the waves were strong, but she went in. She walked in boldly, she walked until the cold sea reached her waist and then, as always, she lay down. She lay with her head back, looking at the clouds, wind blown and whispy. The sea held her, the wind moved her and still she lay there. She felt her life hanging on the waves.
This week, she emerged, so cold she could barely manage to get her wet suit off. But she didn’t care. Once again she had worked out the tides, gathered her towel and all her kit and stormed to the water’s edge. The wind did blow but she stood strong.