Reid was about 6'3 185 pounds. He was a lady's man most people would say. He had light brown hair and bright blue eyes he was very charming and sweet to girls. He was the guy every girl dreams of having. Until the tsunami. When he lost his hand, he also lost his friends. Kids would stop and stare at his stump of a hand and ask there parents what happend to his hand. Most parents would just say "stop looking that's rude". But some would also stare. Wondering what had happened. Was it a birth defect? Did he get in a car accident? Did a shark bite it off? Nobody ever asked. Today Reid works at Tiki Tiki Smoothies on the small island of Kahoolawe, making $7.00 an hour. The small smoothie hut overlooks ocean where there is a popular place to surf. He daydreams of getting out there again but the doctor said the physical therapy and coordination is impossible to regain with all of his injuries.

One day while working the smoothie shack on a slow day of work. A girl came in, she was quite tall for a girl and she was thin. She had her bathing suit on and her wet suit hanging half way down. She hung her surfboard outside the shack. She had blonde hair and glowing blue eyes. Reid daydreamed in her eyes. She asked for a medium strawberry-banana smoothie. It took him a few seconds to realize she was talking to him. "Coming right up", he said realizing she was talking to him. She observed him closely while he was making the smoothie and finally said "hey! I know you, you're the guy that surfed that 100 foot wave. You're a legend!" she added. "Yeah that's me but those days are over." he said sternly. "Oh come on! Just because you don't have a silly little hand doesn't mean that you have to stop doing what you love." she demanded. "Nobody understands, the doctor said i'll never be able to stand up on my board because I need it to balance." he said. "And here's your smoothie." he added sliding it across the counter. "You never know what your body is capable of. Nothing is impossible" she said walking towards the door. "Wait! I didn't get your name!" he said quickly before she walked out the door. "Mae" she said as she opened the door. Then she was gone. He thought long and hard about what she had said. he went to bed at night thinking about it. Thinking about her beautiful eyes that just seemed like magnets. I wondered if she lay awake thinking about me. Thinking if I have at least tried. What if she thinks I'm a coward? He thought. Well the doctor said I won't be able to stand up. He thought as well. To hell with what the doctor said. I can do what I want he exclaimed in his mind. Well what if I get hurt? Then what will happen. He wondered. He would think about it for many nights.

He had the day off of work. He thought he might go to his work and get a smoothie for himself. He had a secret spot between two rocks. It created a little crevice that he was was able to squeeze through and there was a flat grass patch that he could sit on and look at the ocean for hours. He went there when he had things on his mind. He thought things through better there. He had one very important thing on his mind and that was if he was going to surf again. Suddenly he heard some crushing of rocks and he looked outside of the crevice to find the girl. He was startled. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?" He asked. It was Mae. "I followed you from the Tiki Smoothies and you looked despondent so I figured you needed somebody to talk to." She replied. "Well I don't." He said. "Don't be so stubborn. Yes, I know you lost your hand. and it is very traumatizing, I understand that. But you can't expect yourself to stand at that counter all day every day for the rest of your life and expect to have fun. You have to try again Reid." she exclaimed. But I'm afraid! he said dramatically. "Is that why you won't go back out?" She says feeling bad for pushing him so hard. "Yes, I just don't want something like that to happen again. It scared so many people." He said tearing up. Mae's face lit up in excitement. "What if I help you, you know surf, again!" She said getting while getting more and more excited. "You would really do that for me?" He asked curiously. "Of course, you're my inspiration. You helped me get on the bored for the first time. Now I want to help you." she said happily. "When should we start?" He asked. "Bright and early tomorrow, like you used to."  She said. "You seem to know a lot about me." He said questionably. "I already told you, you're my inspiration." She said blushing and leaving the crevice.

Just like they had planned, they had woken up at the crack of dawn and got ready to go out. Reid had trouble putting his wet suit on. He hadn't done it in over a year and now he has a missing hand which makes it even more of a struggle. When he finally got his wetsuit on he looked a picture of his mom on his dresser. His mom had died in a car accident when he was just 14 years old. Now he's 17. "I'm doing this for you" he thought to himself .  He had been really close to his mother his whole life, and all of the sudden she was gone. It's so weird to think you were just hugging the person you love most and now they are just gone. And the next day you find out you will never see this person again. You'll never be able to hug them, or touch them. It gives me the chills. Reid quickly put the picture face down as he didn't want to think about that at this time. This is supposed to be positive. "Stay positive Reid, Stay positive." He thought to himself. He met Mae at the Tiki Tiki smoothies and asked "where are we headed?" Mae responded "just south of here, I know a spot where the waves are calm and there aren't many surfers". "Sounds good" Reid replied. This was the first time Reid had hung out with somebody since the tsunami. Ever since then nobody really talked to him besides his family. He never understood why.

As Reid and Mae were walking down the beach Reid stopped. He just stood there. wondering why she is hanging out with me and he thought to himself "why is this beautiful girl hanging out with me when there are other people she could be with." He didn't understand. But he knew he felt special in some way. So he asked her. "Why me? Why are you with me when there are better things you could be doing, better people you could be with." She stopped. and focused into Reid's eyes and said "I understand what you feel, that's why. I know you have been through a lot with your mom, and the tsunami. My dad died in a surfing accident 2 years ago. He always taught me to stay strong and don't let anything anything bring you down. I thought about it for a long time and realized he was right. Why waste your life thinking about what we have done wrong and look into the future to see what we are going to do right?" Reid started to cry and went up to Mae and hugged her. She hugged him back and Reid said "thank you Mae." And they continued down the beach.

When they arrived to there surfing destination Reid stepped in the water. He had chills going down his spine. The surf was nice today. 3-4 foot waves will make it easier for Reid to ride and get his coordination back. Reid put his board in the water and looked out into the ocean. If you're a surfer, you need to know when to go out. You need to wait for the waves to set so you can paddle out without much trouble. Reid walked his board out until about belly button length and he got on his board and started to paddle.  He had a lot of trouble balancing because he only had one hand to tread through with water. Mae was paddling right behind Reid in case he got knocked off balance and wasn't able to swim. They finally got far enough out to catch a wave. A 3 footer approached Reid and he took his opportunity. Again may was right behind him in case anything happened. Reid took the wave and wasn't able to stand up because he had no balance and he crashed into the wave. He was under for about 10 seconds and gave Mae a scare. Suddenly his head popped up and he had the biggest smile on his face and they both started laughing. All day they surfed. Mae was really good. She competed in teen surfing competitions and won many of them. Reid was very impressed. Reid and Mae practiced all day and he didn't catch any waves. He wasn't able to get up and balance without his other hand.

Reid got out of the water irritated and cold. Mae asked "what was wrong? Reid replied I can't do it! I just can't. It's impossible for me to stand up! She said "nothing is impossible Reid, maybe tomorrow will be a better day." Reid walked Mae home and then walked himself home. He slept horribly that night. He had nightmares about the tsunami. He was screaming. Until his dad came in to comfort him. "Were you dreaming about the tsunami?" His dad asked confident in his question. "Yes" he replied shaking. Reid drempt frequently of the tsunami. "It's okay buddy. Think positive." His dad said trying to comfort him.

Again Mae and Reid went out. Everyday for 2 weeks. Reid had still not stood up on any waves. Then finally one day a 5 footer came up. Reid knew this was the one. He was confident that he can do it. The wave came up and Reid took it. He had perfect timing and he used his one working hand to balance him up and he stood up on the board. He and Mae were both cheering and he had the biggest smile you would ever see on someone's face. He jumped off of his board and swam to shore. He explained how he was able to do it. He said "I always tried to just push up with my one hand and realized that just wasn't going to work. So I tried something different. I used my hand and my legs to help me get on the board and it worked!" Mae was super surprised and happy for him. 

That was one of the best days in Reids life. He walked Mae home and talked to her about when he used to surf. They had laughed the whole way there. He knew Mae was a special girl. When they got to Mae's house Reid stopped and said "wait!" As she went up to her door. He ran up to Mae, grabbed her hand and put her blonde hair behind her ear and kissed her. He said he loved her. She said it back And from that day on they surfed. Every day. All day. For the rest of their lives. Just remember,  even if things are harder for you. You still have to try it. Have confidence. And do it.