Wetlook World Forum

Message # 24772.2

Subject: Re: 5 short strange wetlook stories

Date: Tue 19/09/06 07:16:00 GMT

Name: Panayiotis Constantinides

Email: panos81c@otenet.gr

Website:

By CF - Mon 18/09/06 02:00:42 GMT

Website:

I found the time again to write down for you some of my wetlook memories: Five, somehow unexplainable, scenes I’ve been witness a very long time ago.

1.

In the organized beach of Voula (South Athens), a full summer day, with too many people there. A group of men and women (not too young; about 30-35, if I remember well) is arriving by the sea, very close to me. They leave their things on the sand and most of them start taking their clothes off. A couple of the females walk in front of them and get their feet in the water, checking how cold (or warm) it is.

A very usual scene: They say “Oh! It’s cold!”, or “Yeah! It’s fine!” and they walk back and get undressed (unfortunately!). They have already taken their shoes off and, if they are wearing pants, they are holding them out of the water, or just leave their very low part (5-10 cm) to get wet.

One of them is wearing a white pleated lace skirt, down to her knees, and a red, half-long sleeved skirt, with some small white sketches on it. For my big surprise (and pleasure!), she keeps on walking deeper (without holding her skirt up) and, being almost waist deep, dives into the sea and swims for a very short distance. Then, she stops and starts walking slowly out of the water. Being again waist deed, starts unbuttoning her shirt. She comes out taking it off. I see now that she is wearing a bikini-top and then I can also see very clearly her bikini under her see-through skirt. She walks among her friends, leaves her shirt on a chair, takes her skirt off too and walks with them back to the sea.

I notice that nobody pays her any special attention for that, or discusses anything about it with her or with someone else of her friends. Not even a laugh or a comment like “You’re crazy!” or something. As nothing happened, as it was the more natural thing in the world…

2.

A few km after Voula there is another organized beach called Varkiza. I’m there in late May, early June, some days before schools stop for the final exams and then close for summer.

Some years ago it was very usual to see in those two beaches a lot of (male and female) students with their schoolbags, instead of being at school. As it was difficult to hide from their parents a swimming suite in their bags, most of them were swimming in their clothes; the boys in their shorts or pants (jeans mostly) and the girls in whatever they could: if it was a day with gymnastics lesson they had with them some shorts and t-shirts for that, so they used them as bathing suits and then had dry clothes to change. But usually were getting into the sea in jeans, shorts, various kinds of pants, skirts, dresses, t-shirts, tops shirts, blouses, sweaters etc. On those days and at that age they were too shy to swim in their underwear only. When I was at school, most of the girls were swimming in their thick unattractive dark blue school uniform dresses. You could see tens of girls in blue in the blue sea. Only sometimes, they preferred some shorts or skirts, a t-shirt or a shirt, if they were wearing something like that under their uniforms.

Usually, finishing swimming, they were going under the showers, stayed under the sun for 1-2 hours and then back home completely dry, like they’d been at school!

It was a real paradise for me.

Unfortunately, that day at Varkiza is a very poor day. Very few students there and only one girl, in shorts and t-shirt, had swum clothed until afternoon. I keep being there, waiting for… a miracle, but enjoying the sea also. Walking around I notice a group of students (3 boys and 3 girls) sitting on the beach. The five of them are wearing swimming suits. Only one girl sits in her clothes: large light blue long cotton pants and a little bit darker blue, large also and long t-shirt over. The others are going swimming several times, then sit back or have fun in the sea or on the beach. I sit nearby, waiting for… the miracle. The dressed girl seems happy too, sometimes she plays with them on the beach, but nobody tries, even as a joke, to push her or throw her into the water. I suspect she is in her “difficult” days and they know that and respect it. Sometimes, when the others are swimming or sitting on the beach, she gets up and walks along the sea, letting her pants get a little wet low. A couple of times she tries to walk a little bit deeper, gets her pants wet higher and then walks back to her things. Once, talking with one of the girls who is in the sea, lets herself walk almost knee deep. But then, again, she gets back. Later in the afternoon, all of her friends haven’t gone swimming for quite a long time and are sitting around. She gets up once again, walks the same knee deep into the water and stays still there gazing at the sea. In the meanwhile, the others start getting dressed and gathering their things. When they are almost ready they ask her: “Are we going to leave? Are you ready?” “Yes, almost; just wait for me one moment!” And, instead of turning back and join them, she starts walking deeper. In a few meters she is deeper than her waist. Her whole pants, I guess, are in the water and a “generous” part of her t-shirt. I think that she, at last, decided to have a swim before leaving. The others just watch her without saying anything. Finally she stops there, turns back and walks out. She takes her bag and shoes and all together walk to the exit of the beach.

Again, I hear no comments at all…

3.

Middle of August in Lutsa: too hot but not too many people there. In August two thirds (and maybe more) of Athens is in the islands.

Arriving at the beach, I notice a young couple (about 20-25) playing with a plastic ball. The young man is in his bathing suit and the girl is fully clothed: white sport shoes, jeans, white long-sleeved, hand-knitted, Indian-type, viscose blouse and dark strapless bra inside it. They seem too happy, they laugh a lot and very often fall in each other’s arm and kiss. The ball, also, very often falls in the water and the boy always gets in and brings it back. Once, the girl, instead of hitting the ball with her hands back to him, she kicks it too strongly and… unsuccessfully, far to the sea. The boy behaves (for fun, of course) like an… angry coach and in the very next moment hears his girlfriend saying “What’s your problem? I’ll go and get it!” and sees her running in the shallow (as I have described you some other time) sea. He starts laughing, she comes out with her shoes and low part of her jeans wet and they keep on playing with the ball. Now, when the ball falls in the sea, either he or she get in and catch it. A few minutes later they continue playing in the water. She is still wearing her shoes and her jeans get wetter, as she sometimes runs deeper for the ball. They have started being more playful to each other and now, when they get close, she pretends that she wants to push him in, but she uses no strength at all. He also tries sometimes to throw her in, not so strongly too, but she always resists shouting, trying to escape from his hands etc. Her whole behavior shows me that her resistance is… fake. I think she tries to make him push her in. Sometimes he pushes her deeper but then he lets her go. Finally, she attacks splashing water to him and trying, strongly this time, to push him in. He grabs her from behind and starts taking her with him deeper, decidedly now. She shouts louder, but she also can’t hide her laugh. She seems to enjoy it. People around watch them smiling. At last, they are both fully in the water! They keep “fighting”, playing, swimming and kissing for the next few minutes. I have walked in the sea a little bit near them, to watch better. This time I’m still in my clothes, as I haven’t changed in my bathing suit before. I decide to get in so, as most people were watching them. I get closer to them swimming, watch as better but also tactfully I can and then get out slowly. Before I’m out they have passed me running and are already sitting on the sand just by the water. Walking next to them the girl turns to me, shows me her boyfriend and tells me with her whole phase smiling: “He is the crazy guy!”

I go and sit near my things, not very far from them. A few minutes later, having both already being calm, the girl takes her shoes off and stands up. Then she takes her blouse off, when I realize that the dark strapless bra is a bikini top! I see the… rest of her bikini, when she, just after, takes her jeans off too… She washes her clothes and shoes from the sand in the sea, leaves them carefully on their towel, takes her boyfriend by the hand and get back in for a long “normal” and quiet swim…

4.

About 10 years ago, in Schinias, east of Athens, 1st of December. I remember it, as it was the first time I swam in… winter. It was a quite hot day for December; maybe hotter than 25 degrees C.

I decide to drive there late in the morning. I arrive at about noon and start walking along the long sandy beach all alone. A little later I take my shoes off and test the water’s temperature. I think it’s… bearable. I’m thinking to offer myself a winter clothed swim. For the moment, I keep on walking along the sea, knee deep this time.

As I walk, I see far away, coming out of the wood, almost like a shadow, somebody with a big dog. They get close to the sea and start walking to my direction. It takes time to get close, as they stop every minute and play. They run, they run back, she (as I realized later it was “she”), throws things and the dog brings them back and so on. When I can see them better I realize that she’s a girl, I see the dog now getting in and out of the water and I think that sometimes she is getting her feet in and out too. I’m not sure what she is wearing, if she has rolled up pants, or so. A little closer I can see her now running with the dog, splashing her feet in the water. Then they stop, she bends down to her dog, like saying him something, walks again in the water and throws something far in the sea. The dog runs in and swims to catch it and bring it back. Now I can understand that she’s almost knee deep in the water. When the dog brings the thing back to her she starts walking again to my direction, in the sea this time, with the dog swimming next to her. In a distance of about 100 m, she realizes (I think for the first time) my presence, gets out of the water and keeps on walking on the sand. I do the same. When we meet, I see that she is wearing leather boots and that her jeans are wet up to her knees. I think she also notices my, up to my knees too, wet jeans and my leather boots in my hand. The dog comes near me, with a red soft ball in his mouth and leaves it in front of me, shaking his tail.

“I think he wants you to play with him”, the girl tells me.

“And what should I do?” I ask.

“Just throw the ball and ask him to bring it back”, she answers.

And so I do a few times. Then, I catch the ball, walk again knee deep into the water and throw the ball into the sea. The dog hesitates and looks at his boss. The girl starts walking to the sea and when she steps in the water the dog runs in and swims to find the ball. The girl comes and stands near me, watching her dog. Unfortunately, because of that small delay, the small waves have taken the ball quite far away. When the girl realizes what’s going on, she starts calling her dog back. But the dog keeps on swimming to the ball. The girl is starting getting worried. I try to calm her down, telling her that most dogs can swim very well and that she shouldn’t be worried. But she is. And, because of that, she has started walking deeper, maybe trying to be closer to her dog, to protect him. Now the water is up to her legs. I call her to come back and so she does. With a fear in her eyes asks me to promise her that everything will be OK. I catch her hand and I promise her so. She falls shaking on me and now I’m holding her with both my hands around her. I feel the softness of the fine pink woolen sweater she’s wearing. A few minutes later I see the dog catching the ball and starting swimming back. She gets happy, leaves from my arms and walks again a little bit deeper. She starts calling his name happily and slowly keeps on walking deeper. I think she hasn’t realized that the water is almost up to her chest that very time the dog reaches her and she takes him in her arms. I hadn’t moved; I was watching still from my “knee deep place”. She comes back to me with the dog still in her arms.

“Thank you!” she tells me.

“I don’t think you have to carry him anymore”, I tell her

“You’re right!” she says and leaves the dog in front of us.

The dog runs out. The girl in front of me touches the edges of my hands, looking down.

“Thank you!” tells me again, with much more brightness in her face and with a very fast movement gives me a quick kiss on my cheek.

Then she starts looking herself.

“I think the water is fine, if you wish to swim”, says after a while.

“I was thinking of it actually. Will you join me?”

“I’ve already done it for almost 80%!” she answers, laughing and showing herself and her wet clothes. Only her shoulders and around her neck was still dry.

“OK! Let’s make it 100%!”

“After you!” she tells me.

“Fine! Give me your hand, I’ll walk first, deeper and deeper, and you just follow me!” I propose to her.

“No! You first will do your 100% and then I’ll do my rest 20%. Walk in alone, then swim as deeper you can and after that turn back to see me coming in to you. In the meanwhile, I’m going out to take my shoes off and my sweater too. It will be easier to reach you swimming only in my jeans and t-shirt.”

“It’s a deal! And I’ll keep it difficult; I’ll keep both my shirt and t-shirt on.” I tell her and start walking deeper as she walks out. I walk until the water covers my neck and then start swimming. I swim for only 3-4 minutes and then I stop and turn back looking forward to watch her coming in. Then I realize that both she and the dog have disappeared. I swim out, but it takes me long. I walk to the wood to find them but they are nowhere. 10-15 minutes in front of me is enough time to cross the whole wood and reach their car. And, indeed, the distant sounds of a car starting and a dog barking are the things I hear 2-3 minutes later. And it’s too late to reach my car; it’s more than another 10-15 minutes, the opposite direction. They will have been in Athens until then!

And I didn’t even asked her name… Only her dog’s I know: Black; One of the most common you can ever hear…

5.

Lutsa again, many years ago, I cannot remember when. I’m only sure it was the Friday before Easter.

Weather: a little cloudy, a little hot, a little windy, a little humid, a little sad, as almost every that Friday.

People on the beach: less than 10. People in the sea: 0.

I’m there just for a walk; for making thoughts gazing at the sea.

I’m sitting on the beach when a couple appears walking along the sea. Age: about 30. You think they’ve just come out of a big Company’s office. The man: Formal black trousers, white shirt, leather shoes, eyeglasses; only the tie and the coat were missing. The woman: High heals (in hand already), nylon stockings stepping on the sand, formal black trousers and eyeglasses too, expensive (I guess) creamy white blouse, with a few colored sketches knitted on it.

They walk slowly, without talking and their expressions show some tense among them. 5-10 meters after they pass in front of me, the man stops, bends down, unties his shoes and takes them off. Then he takes his trousers off and gives them to the woman. At the same time she is asking him:

“Do you insist in doing that?”

“Yes, why not? I want to do it!”

“When an idea is getting in your mind, it does not come out even with a surgery!” adds the woman.

They don’t seem angry, neither friendly. Then the man walks into the sea, wearing still his socks, his glasses, a boxer and a white t-shirt under his shirt. He walks a long, until he gets a little bit deep. Then he fells in the water and starts swimming. The woman is standing near me, with his trousers in one hand and her shoes in the other. She makes a few steps right and left nervously. The mood of the man in the sea changes minute by minute. He calls her name sweetly, he laughs and he is waving his hands to her telling her how wonderful he feels. The woman is still nervous and walks up and down. Some minutes later, after repeating the same things, he also asks her to come in with him. She acts as if she hasn’t heard. After the second or the third invitation, the only thing that she tells him is that he has to hurry, as they have things to do.

“Come in and then we both get out immediately and leave”, he says.

“Oh, God!” says to herself and then turns to me:

“That man never has the sense of the right time for the right things!”

I say nothing, but she keeps on saying to me:

“He thinks and asks for the most extreme things, always in the wrong time.”

“There is never the right time for extreme things”, I think, but I don’t tell her.

“Trust me darling, you’re missing! Believe me; you won’t regret it coming in! Join me and you’ll enjoy it!” we listen to the man repeating periodically.

“Are you listening what he is asking this time from me?” she keeps on telling me, “you will freak out if I tell you what other extreme things he has asked me from time to time!”

I am curious, but I don’t ask her to tell me. I only hear her husband (?) inviting her in, once more. Then she reacts to him for a second time:

“Be serious at last and come out now; we’ve already been late!”

Then the man stops calling her anymore and starts swimming only. He is getting deep and then coming out in a point far from the beach, where the water is 30-40 cm shallow.

“We have to go shopping and then visit our two godchildren. When shall we do these and in what clothes?” I hear her talking to me once more.

10 minutes later the woman sits on the sand disappointed, on the man’s trousers, watching him swimming. After some more minutes I watch her rolling up her pants, higher than her knees. Her nylon stockings are still on, “hiding” under her pants. Then she gets up and hesitating starts walking into the water. For a quite long distance the water is too shallow. Then it’s getting slowly waist deep and after that you can reach the second too shallow point where now her husband is sitting still, watching her coming in. I also watch her trying to pull her trousers even higher, as the water has started getting deeper. After some meters she realizes that there is no use for that, so she leaves her trousers fall free in the water. Little by little her trousers disappear under the water. Now she is far away from me too and I can’t watch her so clearly, so I decide to get in too. I take my shoes and shirt off and get in (not so close to her, of course) wearing my pants. I swim, even in the shallow, making a circle around them and finally I’m in second deep point, deeper than they are. I can watch them well from here, pretending that I’m swimming, and even listen what they say. I thought she would be sweeter near him, but she is still cold as ice. She only tells him to be more serious and less extreme in a very typical way. She is rather anxious and nervous than angry. She seems to share nothing of his pleasure. He tells her once more that if they share a tender small swim, he would come out at once after that. But it’s like he’s speaking to a wall. He is always in the water, but I notice that he is moving little by little deeper, making her follow him. Her trousers are again unrolled, as they are large and the water has pulled them down. After a while her trousers disappear again in the water and she is once more waist deep. Then her husband stands up and tries to take her in his arms and share some tenderness with her. She remains an ice cube, so the man gets once more in the water ant starts swimming again. When he is deeper, he lays on the surface of the sea and tells her that if she comes and catch his hand, he will leave himself free and let her pull him out of the water. She makes a disappointed move of her head and walks deeper, closer to him. Then she realizes that as she gets closer to him, he does small swimming moves and gets deeper. She stops once again, with only her hands now out of the water and dry, tells him in a very cruel way how immature he is and fells in the water swimming fast to him, catching finally his hand. Then, he tries once more to bring her in his arms and kiss her. She reacts as an ice cube once more, tells him that he only should lie down free and starts swimming, taking him out of the sea. Getting out she is only waiting for him to put his trousers and shoes on, takes her shoes in her hands again and walk to where I suppose their car is, soaking wet and with that iced and sour expression still on her face…