The Rescue

A Short Story (Part Four).

Following the movements of the sombrero proved to be time consuming. First I met with Joe, who had borrowed the hat from Billy Ray, and he informed me that he had given it to Darrel, who was supposed to return it for him.

I lied and told Joe that Billy Ray needed it back ASAP, for a gig he was scheduled to play, and that I needed Darrel’s number so I could call him and track it down. 

As it turned out, Darrel had planned to leave the hat at Harry’s, so that Billy Ray could pick it up there, but while he was on his way he came upon an old friend named Eddie, and the two of them ended up at the $2 Beer Tavern.

He was pretty hammered by the time he left the tavern, so he went for a swim to sober up. Darrel carried on and on – bragging about what a good swimmer he normally was – but there had been a strong rip tide that day and it literally pulled him out to sea. 

“Oh come on!” I teased, not believing a word.

“It’s true,” he yelled, “I wouldn’t even be here right now if I hadn’t been rescued. There was a story about it in the Malibu Times. Look it up!”

My Uber entered a tunnel (I was on my way to lunch), I lost my cell signal, and our call ended abruptly. I was feeling discouraged, but I scrolled through the archives of the Malibu Times – to see if Darrel’s story could be verified. 

I was shocked when I read the headlines: Big Hat Saves Man’s Life

Darrel had, in fact, been pulled from the water that day. The article went on to say that if it wasn’t for the large sombrero on his head, the lifeguards never would have spotted him. 

This is crazy, I thought to myself.

After doing more digging, I learned that Mario, one of the lifeguards, had confiscated the hat. Darrel had been his first real rescue, and the sombrero served as a trophy of sorts.

I also discovered that Mario was not just a lifeguard. He was also a bouncer at the Saltwater Lounge – the club that Diego and I had been to – where this whole mess began. 

I ordered lunch and a glass of champagne. It was time to celebrate. The trail of the infamous, traveling sombrero was heading straight back to me, and soon I would have some answers.

READ ON

I think we are one part away from some kind of ending on this! I have ideas, but I need to think it through one more night. Or two.

Now… I’m not too sure if this story is a mystery or a comedy – but I’m really loving the sombrero. It’s fun to have a prop like that – there’s so much you can do with it!

Anyway, I had fun with this featured image. I had taken the photo of the lifeguard boat when I was at the beach years ago. It was a terrible, grainy picture, but it was perfect for this! (which is why I save crappy photos).

I used AI in Photoshop Beta to add the swimmer and his hat, and a bit of fog, and then all I had to do was try out various apps to get the illustration / cartoon effect.

So, that’s about all for now. I’ll be back soon for part five, and what should be the end of the story… and some more fun photo effects of course.

Until later,

Peace & Love!