Our long-awaited family trip to Bali was unfolding at last. I gazed out of the tiny airplane window and glimpsed a sparkling, clear-blue sheet of water beneath me. Our pilot announced the commencement of the airplane’s descent in a muffled voice; I obediently fastened my seatbelt. The distant outline of the island heightened my excitement about my first overseas vacation.
As the airplane gradually slowed its speeding wheels, my family members began to unbuckle themselves and retrieve my portable wheelchair from the crowded overhead compartments. After several minutes of yanking suitcases and embarrassing apologies, I was finally lowered uncomfortably in the seat. However, navigating the airplane’s central aisle was an even more humiliating struggle. Relief flooded over me the minute my chair’s wheels touched the solid ground of Bali.


I had to admit that it wasn’t the best weather for the day of our arrival. Strange looking clouds blocked the sun’s rays, emitting a gray gloom above the vast ocean. The air had a humid, sticky feel to it, and the strong wind ruffled the sturdy palm tree leaves. Despite these unfavorable conditions, I decided to venture outside and explore the area. As I began to wheel myself out of the hotel room, my mother called to me.


“Johnny! Where are you going? Do you need help?”


“No, Mom, I’m just going to look around. I don’t need any help,” I replied while rolling my eyes. My mother has been hovering way too much ever since my accident.


“Okay, well, be careful! Do you want me to go with you?”


“Nah, I’m good.”


Since I hadn’t had much use for them in the past year, my thin, weak legs seemed even smaller than they were compared to my sturdy upper body. I used my immense arm strength to push the wheels beneath me moving quickly through the hotel halls, past the lush grounds and into the nearby town. I suffered familiar stares, which triggered the memories of my accident.
I pictured myself behind the wheel; my friends were in the backseat. I was freshly licensed and my ego was at an all-time high. Thinking I was an invincible sixteen year-old, I submitted to my friends’ urges to try to beat an approaching car to an intersection. I pressed the pedal to the floor, panicked as I realized I wouldn’t make it, and the rest is a blur.
The high-pitched chirping of birds snapped me back into reality and I found myself near the edge of a towering cliff, with a path leading into the stirring ocean. The tide was very low, unnaturally low actually, and white foam swirled as the water crashed and churned. This phenomenon interested me, so I painstakingly made my way down the steep, sandy hill towards the water. I was too intrigued to notice the absence of people on the beach.
I approached the water just as a substantial wave smashed into the sand near me, coating me in a thin mist of salty sea. I frowned. This wasn’t what I expected Bali’s beaches to be like. From what I had heard, I expected the water to be relatively calm with a constant, steady flow of waves. The current condition of the ocean had a dangerous aura about it. The waves were mounting as each one slammed into the sandy shoreline. I had just decided to turn around and return to the resort when I spotted a monstrous wave swiftly rolling towards the shore. This wave was at least five times the normal size. As it approached it sucked the tide out to sea, leaving the beach bare. I moved away as fast as anyone could possibly go in a wheelchair across the bumpy ground of sand and shells. The steep hill I had to ascend to reach the top of the cliff had slipped my mind. I looked around in a panicked state. Not one soul was around the beach to help. I yelled as loud as I could for help, but the roar of the ocean drowned out my cries. The huge tsunami wave was dangerously approaching me; I wracked my brain over and over to try to figure out how I could escape this situation. I spotted some nearby coconuts a few yards away. In a matter of seconds, I had about three in my hands and used my powerful, upper body to throw them over the top of the cliff to try to attract someone’s attention. I knew the wave would drown me in less than a minute if someone didn’t come to my rescue.
Suddenly, my mother came sprinting down the side of the cliff as the glaring lights of police cars pulsed above. She grabbed my wheelchair and pushed me up the hill at an astonishing speed for a woman of her age. We made it with about ten seconds to spare as we watched the humungous wave crash against the side of the cliff and return to sea, leaving behind thousands of fish, clams, and jellyfish remains. I listened as my mother explained that she had seen a tsunami warning on the television and knew that I would be near the ocean.
“You were smart to send that signal with the coconuts. I would not have found you in time otherwise,” she stated admiringly.
I have to admit, I was a little embarrassed to confess that my mother had to rescue me from the wave, but our respect for each other grew tremendously because of that incident. As a result, my mother allows me greater freedom, and I consider her advice with an open mind. I guess you could say there has been a sea change in our relationship.