On a harsh hitch I flew sideways, bouncing back down on Blake. “I got you,” Blake said, keeping his arms around me this time. This was Blake, polite and protective. Charming to a fault, protective of everyone. Being this close to him disrupted my equilibrium, and not in a good way. It got worse with every bump and blip. Each time we moved, he’d adjust his arm around me, pulling me closer. Between the forced contact and the bouncing truck, I felt nauseous by the time we arrived at the private beach where the party would be held.
Nippers and the Junior Guard—kids younger than us who were not participating in the ceremony or attending the party—were preparing the beach for the bonfire. Islanders sixteen and up were welcome to stay for the fun, but most people over twenty-five or so never did. Mica and I were the oldest of five sets of twins born within six months of each other after a ten-year dry spell when only a handful of babies had been born at all. In Billy’s year, he was the only one. Growing up there weren’t many kids on the Island close to his age, so he was very happy when we came along when he was eight. He was there almost every day of my childhood, taking care of Kaleb and Blake, and Mica and me.
“Everyone else in The Guard went over already,” said Billy’s girlfriend Celeste, walking over to give him a kiss. Celeste wasn’t Pinhold-born and bred but she’d accepted an internship with the Ocean Research Institute for the summer. I’d met her last year when she was interviewing for the position, and I’d come to love her quickly. “So, are you guys ready for this?” Celeste asked to Blake, Mica and me. We each nodded enthusiastically, and went down to the water. I’d waited sixteen years for this and didn’t want to wait a minute longer.
“I’m so curious, even though I know I shouldn’t be!” Celeste whispered in my ear, holding me back. I nodded because she was right.
“They don’t really appreciate curiosity,” I said, agreeing with her. Technically, The Guard was a surf rescue club. They existed in popular surfing spots around the world to supplement the beach lifeguards and they hosted surf carnivals. But here on Pinhold, they acted more like a fraternity, with ceremonies and rituals for members only. Since Celeste hadn’t been born on Island, or descended from of one of the original ten families who had landed here eons ago, she could never get in. Blake, Mica and I at least had a chance.
We all stripped down to swimsuits and passed Celeste our clothes to hold before getting on the old school multi-person raft. Billy paddled the distance to the other shore where the ceremony would take place on the little island that sat independent of the rest of Pinhold. It was a small sanctuary, protected by a tricky current and tons of heavy trees. It had broken off from the larger landmass with the eruption of an ancient volcano, or so the legend said. It was only about two hundred square feet, and only visible when the tide was low.
Tonight the water lapped gently when we pulled up. A combination of dark rocks and soft black sand edged the tiny land mass. I jumped from the wooden craft and ran through the shallow surf. Anticipation, adrenaline and the energy from the people waiting for us flowed through me and drew me in. I felt giddy with it.
Thirty lava stones swirled in a sacred spiral, with members of The Guard around them. Some held torches to provide fire and light, and others beat rhythms on the stone drums that each had a slightly different tone. The tapped tones and beats sounded like ocean waves, like the ancient conversation between sea and land.
I’d heard the drums from home over the years, but they never sounded like this before. It enveloped me, connecting me to the union of nature, time and the many who’d come here before me. I breathed in, savoring the connection, when Blake caught my eye. He smiled, and I knew he felt the same as I did.
His grandfather and my grandmother stood in the middle of the circle. Both were Elders on the island, revered for their wisdom, athletic prowess and lifelong commitment to The Guard. Both had competed professionally on the international Surf Carnival circuit. Since Blake’s grandfather was busy running the day-to-day events on Pinhold, my grandmother had taken charge of most of our training through the years. They were expecting great things from us in the upcoming lifeguarding sport competitions, but tonight’s ceremony was a spiritual one.
The single most important thing drilled into us year in and out was that those of us lucky enough to have homes on Pinhold had a responsibility to take care of the island and the ocean around us. Tonight’s ceremony was about renewing that commitment for the members of The Guard. But my friends and I would take the pledge for the first time.
Can’t we just skip to the party? Mica clicked, his intense, impatient feels disturbing me. His average emotional temperature always burned higher and dipped lower then mine, which meant that his feelings more frequently influenced us. But I wasn’t about to let that happen tonight.