I groan when I feel something hitting the back of my neck for the thousandth time.

Making me want to strangle my new friend, who doesn't seem to be bothered by my death glare which I am sending in their way.

Lina spends most of the time at the store and by doing anything she finds interesting. She actually helps me with a lot of things, sometimes she deals with customers and makes them buy things even which they don't need. When the first time she did this, I was completely shocked.

But I am not complaining at all, after all, who doesn't like to make money, right?

The sales of my shop have also been increased since Lina has started to hang here which is not surprising again. Because most of the guys just come here to buy stuff just to see Lina, honestly, which really annoys me but she uses this as her advantage.

However, today she decided to entertain herself by throwing pebbles at me which she collected from the beach earlier this morning.

"Stop it!" I glare at her.

"You are ignoring me." She glares back and now she throws the pebble directly at my chest after she finishes signing the words.

"I am not ignoring. I am working." I roll my eyes at her while continuing to organize the stuff.

"There is no work." She signs, as frown forms on her lips, "And I am bored." She lightly slaps both of her cheeks and drags her hands down her face while sticking out her bottom lip.

Her face makes me lightly laugh. But the puppy dog eyes, she has been giving me obviously works making me sigh defeatedly.

Looking around the store, I run my fingers through my hair. She is right, today has been a bit slow and there is not much work at the store.

"Okay, do you have anything in mind?" Raising my eyebrows questioningly at her, I ask.

I hope nothing embarrassing comes to her mind, because from the small-time which I have known her anything is possible when it comes to her.

Biting her lower lip, she stares at the ground as a small dent form between her brows. Slowly a smile starts to appear on her face as her eyes light up with excitement as she glances at me.

"So?" I expectantly look at her, knowing that something has come up in her mind.

Please, God! Nothing embarrassing. I send a silent prayer sensing her excitement.

"Surfing." She jerks her thumb towards the surfing boards, in the corner of the store, pivoting on her heels back and forth.

Suddenly, my throat feels dry as my hands become sweaty.

"I...um...I don't think that is a good idea." I instantly get nervous thinking about surfing. "I haven't surf since the accident. I am afraid I can do that anymore." My voice quietens at the end and the painful memories of the time when I could surf flashes before my eyes.

"Jason." She sighs and takes my hand in her hand, her gesture feels comforting which slightly lessens the pain that is slowly gripping my heart. "We are going for surfing, and you will surf." She nods at me with a reassuring smile. I read her lips without any difficulty like I can clearly hear her words.

The more I spend time with her, reading her lips are getting easier than it already was. Sometimes when she speaks, sign language doesn't even seem necessary.

"Look at me, I haven't surf since..." She scrunches her face in thinking, "Since I was born." She laughs and shrugs.

Sometimes, I wish I could hear her laugh. I want to know does it sounds as beautiful as she looks when she laughs. She is not the most beautiful girl, but there is something about her that makes her beautiful than everyone. Her beauty shines from inside.

"And look at me, I am not even scared." She nods her head seriously, trying to hold back her mischievous smile from appearing on her lips.

"You don't even know surfing and you want to surf?" I laugh, looking at her in disbelief.

"I may not know how to surf." Leaving my hand she signs as she speaks, "But I know how to stand after falling, and I think that is enough." She smiles softly at me.

An impressed smile replaces my earlier laugh, as I glance at her with newfound admiration. How simply, she has made me realize something really important.

Instead of letting the fear to fall stop us, we should focus on learning on getting back to our feet. Once we learn the art of rising after every fall, then no fear can become a barrier in our way.

Somewhere my fear of being a failure is stopping me from trying to get back to my old life.

I think it is time that I should let my fears go, maybe then I will be able to take a step in the direction of being myself again... or who knows even becoming the better version of my previous self.

Standing in front of the ocean, I take a deep breath. Nervousness starts to build inside me as I watch waves forming in the ocean and slowly breaking down until they reach the shore.

Beach is not too much crowded, neither many people are surfing, but this doesn't help my nerves. Swallowing a hard lump, my grip tightens on my surfboard which is tucked under my arm. Glancing to my side, I find Lina looking at me with a smile.

"Go." She mouths, making me shift my gaze back to the water.

Suddenly, I feel her small hand slipping into my hand and intertwining our fingers together. Instantly, my head snaps to her, as she looks ahead with a small smile playing on her lips.

She squeezes my hand as if she is silently giving me the strength which I needed. This small gesture of her calms me and a fresh wave of courage wash over my heart. Her attention gets back to me when I return her grip.

"Show me what you got." She teasingly arches her eyebrow, releasing my hand when she figures I am ready to face my fears.

"Don't wish for something which you can't handle." I wink at her, which makes her roll her eyes as she shakes her head at me. But I don't miss the light shade of pink which graces her cheeks, making her look even cuter.

Taking a deep breath, I start walking towards the water. Briefly, my eyes close when the first wave splashes against my feet. Wiggling my toes, I attempt to adjust to the sensation, then slowly I walk deeper into the water.

Okay, this is it.

Climbing on the surfboard, I paddle as the wave approaches me, small waves crash against my body moving the board up and down with their motion. All my nerves settle, as everything seems so familiar yet there is something new about it.

I can feel every single ripple of water so clearly throughout my body unlike before. It seems like, with the loss of my hearing sense, my other senses have multiplied. Other than that nothing is different.

Another wave approaches me, and this time I feel the board rise in water as the wave picks up. Perching myself on the standing position, my speed increase as the wave takes me along with itself.

A wide smile breaks onto my face when I manage to catch my first wave after the accident. Earlier it would have been less significant. But, now it means so much to me.

Soon I find myself surfing effortlessly on the water as if I have never left surfing in the first place.

My entire body is buzzing with familiar energy making me feel alive. Splashes of water feel cool against my skin, beneath my feet I can feel the rushing of water, the wind caressing through my hair... I can sense each and everything. Surprisingly, silence is the last thing that is on my mind at this moment.

I don't know how long I have lost myself in the feel of water, but when I reach the shore, then only I realize there is a group of the small audience standing on the shore watching me. There are both familiar and unfamiliar faces, their faces held different expressions. Some faces have an encouraging smile, some look stunned, and some watches me in like I have provided them a good show.

Soon I am surrounded by the people, whom I have known almost all my life on this beach. They start to talk animatedly to me, without the trace of pity in their eyes. For the first time, I don't mind, not able to hear them, as my eyes are fixed on the girl standing afar as she watches me with a gaze which holds nothing but pride.

A slow smile spreads on her lips when our eyes meet. A feeling of contentment warms my chest knowing that I am the reason behind the smile of this girl who encouraged me to face my fears.

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Thank you for reading.