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Prompt: Instead of being happy in heaven, a man is depressed beyond belief.

Everything was beautiful.  The sky was turning orange from the evening sun, its rays of light obstructed only by thin cirrus clouds streaking 18000 feet above.  Islands rested on the horizon, and marching past them walked lines on lines of green hills.   

A man sat in the middle of the bay bobbing on a surfboard.  One of the waves passing below lifted him momentarily before setting him back down.  From behind it, he watched as the wave continued to heave itself upward.  It struggled and it struggled, and when it had finally reached the highest point it would ever reach, the wave threw itself against the beach, ending its long journey as a foam of white bubbles popping on the sand.  

"Yes, I know that one was perfectly fine," said the man.

So why didn't you catch it then?

"I didn't want to catch that wave, OK.  I have a feeling.  Call it intuition.  There is going to be an even more perfect wave soon."

You know, Freddy, it's because of that kind of thinking that you're always missing so many great opportunities. Like what about that trip to Africa?  Or what about that girl you were telling me about that one time?  What was her name?

"Oh, here we go again.  I should have never told you about Suzy."

Right, Suzy, that's the one! I knew it started with an S. Suzy--

"Yeah, yeah.  I get it.  You've said it a million different times.  Yes, sometimes I should just throw myself into the deep end.   Yes, sometimes I might wait too long and end up with nothing.  I get that.  But still...I can't do it.  It's just not my disposition.  You can't change who you are."

Okay Freddy. If you say so.  That's fine...but don't say I didn't warn you.

"Consider your point made."

The man continued to watch and wait on the horizon.  At times, he leant back and sucked in as much air as he could, soaking in all this wonderful beautiful world.  

The clouds began to dissipate.

The sky began to turn a blood red.

The waves grew quiet and small.

Then there was only moonlight.

Still sitting in the ocean, the man sighed. "Bah, I think I missed it."

What did I tell you, Freddy?

"Okay, yeah, I admit it.  It went exactly as you said it would."

I told you, Freddy.

"Yeah, yeah.  Tomorrow."

At the very next wave, the man turned toward the beach and he began paddling as hard as he could.  As he paddled, he felt the force of the ocean slowly rising below his board.  When it felt strong enough, he threw himself to his feet.

He had jumped too early. The momentum was lost.  The wave carried on without him.

Don't worry about that one buddy.  Look at it this way: you're closer to the beach now.  The next wave will be twice as easy.

The next wave to come was tiny.  The man sighed again and paddled with half his heart.  Just as before, the force began to rise below his board, and just as before he threw himself to his feet when it felt just right.  

This time it took.  From the top of the wave, he crouched and leaned and rocketed downward, and as he did so he felt his stomach pushing into his lungs, as if he was descending in the office elevator.  Right before hit the bottom of the wave, he leaned back and used his momentum to curve upward again.  He climbed and fell.  He climbed and fell. Throughout it all, the water streamed behind him.  

When the wave began to slow, the man found a steady height and let the white wash of the wave run through his hair.

Then the beach drew nearer still. Just before he hit, the man gave one final swing upward and shot himself to the crest of the wave.  When he reached its zenith, he threw himself and the board into the air.  He rose up above and beyond the wave and the moon and islands behind him casting shadows in the distance and when he came down he landed in the waters waist-deep.  At that same moment that he landed, he heard the wave behind him crashing against the shore.

The man raised his arms for all to see.  

"Yes!" he yelled "Yes! Yes! Yes!  Did you see that?  Yes! God yes!  That was beautiful.  Bloody hell!  Yes!"

It sure was something, Freddy.

"You're damn right that was something!  Yes! That wave was perfect.  I nailed it."  

Before the next wave could run him down, the man span around and quickly hurried toward dry land.

Once he was well and clear of the waves, he turned back and looked at the ocean as he unstrapped the leg-rope from his ankle.  It was all so admirably beautiful, all this beautiful majestic glorious beautiful majestic world. He continued walking up the beach.

When he reached the bank, the newly formed dew drops on the grass made him realise how cold it had become.  The man admired the beautiful majestic glorious holy beautiful majestic kind-soul lovely ecstatic wonderful beautiful BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL wetness from the leaves soaking into the spaces between his toes. A cloud passed over head and blocked out the moon light.

In the darkness, the man continued onward.  He found a rack filled with surf-boards.  Passing alongside the rack, the man counted each surfboard with his hand.  When he found the empty rack, he stopped.  The man put the surfboard into the rack.  The man continued onward.

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