Simeral

Simeral

As the fall season passes by, a father and his son play in the sand. They have taken a trip to the outer banks of North Carolina. The dad was visiting his parents. When they looked at the weekend weather, it showed that it was going to be sunny. However, that was no the beaches weather. It was a common mistake. When they arrived at the beach, they noticed the cool fall breeze and the dark clouds circling its atmosphere. The dad realized his mishap.

“Come on, Johnny,” the dad said, “Let’s get out of here.” “But why?” the kid asked. “There is going to be a storm soon.” His dad said. However, before they left, they found something. Sitting in the middle of the beach was a bright red bucket and two shovels. “It’s like treasure.” The son said excited about his find. Obliged, the father went over to the pile “Let’s build a sandcastle!” the father said.

The son was so ecstatic they had to build just one castle. Unfortunately, the weather kept getting worse and the dad kept getting more worried. The boy didn’t notice. Before his parents divorced, they would always take him to the beach, but since the divorce, he hasn’t gone since. Johnny was having a great time and the dad started to have more fun as well. Suddenly, the waves began crashing on the shore and it began to rain. Ocean swells were getting larger. All of a sudden there was a big flash of lightening and a roar of thunder. The father picked up his son and rushed to the car. As soon as they shut the door, the wind picked up and a sand storm started. The father put the key in the ignition, but it wouldn’t start. He kept trying but the car didn’t turn on. Now they were stuck.

Eyes glued to his sand castle, Johnny tried to watch it through his car window. The pounding rain made this difficult. As the rain hit the car and jumped off it created a drumming sound as the father mumbled to himself, trying to get the car started.

“Well kid, I think we are just going to have to ride out the storm.” He said, giving up on the idea of getting the car started. They sat there for a while, motionless and silent. The boy’s eyes were wandering around the car, trying to find something to keep him entertained.

The sand storm grew closer and closer. Each and every grain of sand inched its way towards the car. All of a sudden a blast of sand shot through the air conditioners and into the faces of the dad and his son. The sand furiously entered the car, filling the interior half way. Sand continued to pelt their faces with great force. Quickly the car began to fill up and the dad realized they had to get out. The dad opened the sunroof from his car with great adrenaline. He could feel the blood pumping throughout his body. The dad got out first and after he got out he had to get his son out. He used all of his strength even though the sand shooting at his face. Finally the dad and son got out. They started to run and finally they found a store to seek shelter. They sprinted up the stairs to the boardwalk and begged the owner to let them in. The owner opened the door, making the dad and son so glad to find shelter.

They waited in the store for about 45 minutes. The owner told the father and son that these sand storms happened often ad they usually lasted about an hour. The owner also told stories about all of the things and different people he has seen. He explained to them that there once was a man who went by the name of Hal. Hal was not any ordinary man. He came out at night and disappeared during the day. Hal always wore all black and had a long red ponytail. Some say he would dive into the ocean at night, becoming one with the sand and water. If ever he got mad, he would blow up gigantic sand storms and not let up until he was content again.

“But why did Hal get mad?” The boy pondered.

The owner explained that no one will ever know what sets of Hal and why he acts up the way he does. The best thing that everyone can do is just hope that he doesn’t get angry and start another sand storm.

Another fifteen minutes passed by and finally the storm let up. The three of them walked over to the door to look outside and see if the coast was clear. Clear sky, no sand flying through the air, it appeared that everything was back to normal. Johnny and his dad said thank you to the store clerk and then went on their way back to the car. Walking down the street, they saw their car… completely covered in sand. They just didn’t know what the do, how could they ever get all of the sand out of the car. Then Johnny had an idea. He went running to the beach a saw the two shovels just lay in the middle of the sand. Johnny picked them up and brought the shovels back to his dad.

“Wow good thinking Johnny!” said his dad The two of them began digging and after an hour, the car had no more sand inside. “Finally! Now we can go home.” Johnny said excited “Yes we can, it’s about time.” His father said

As they drove home, neither of them really said anything. They were both too busy thinking about what they just went through. After fifteen minutes of silence, Johnny's dad leaned over and said, “Let’s keep this between you and me, don’t tell you mother.” Johnny just laughed and said, “I agree!”

They both laughed and began to chat about how crazy this Hal guy must have been. Driving down the street, they passed the boardwalk again and saw the store that they took shelter in. As they passed, they saw a guy on the side of the street that was wearing all black and had a long red ponytail and he waved at the two of them. Johnny and his dad looked at each other and when they looked back to the street, the man was gone. Neither of them understood what happened. For the rest of the car ride neither of them spoke about their adventure and they promised to never speak of it again. **I really like the ending **