Amy N Kaplan

It was the perfect summer day to go to the beach… not too hot, not too cold, just perfect.  Steph called and as if she was reading your mind, she asked if you wanted to go to Presque Isle with her family.  It was a good day and your mother said yes.  Steph was going to be at your house to pick you up in 15 minutes.

Running upstairs to change you heard your mother yell out, “Don’t run in the house!”  You quickly grabbed your favorite Batman beach towel and the nearly empty bottle of sunblock from the bathroom before scurrying to your room to get changed.  Tearing off the clothes you were wearing you hurriedly put on your swimsuit and then put your shorts and T-shirt over it.  Grabbing your sandals and towel, you ran downstairs.

Steph arrived with her dad and brother, Doug, just as you got your sandals on.  “Bye, mom!” you shouted as you ran out the door.  Climbing into the backseat of her dad’s car, you and Steph spent the entire drive giggling and laughing and singing.

Once you arrived at the beach, Steph’s dad reminded you not to go out too far.  If the water was higher than your waist, you had to come closer to shore… unless Doug was with you. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, can we go in the water yet?” Steph asked. Sighing, her father replied, “Yes, but….” And the two of you were off before he could finish his sentence.

I loved the beach. The warm sun caressing my skin, the smell of the water filling my nostrils, the contrast of the soft water and the even softer sand.  It was sensory bliss to me. Today, the water was cool, but not cold. The wet sand squishing between my toes felt like heaven.

Time was inconsequential. I didn’t even notice its passing. Steph and I were splashing and talking and giggling… and then she found the sand bar.  We were out so far that we could barely see our towels on the shore.  The water was only up to our waists, so we were following the rules.

Waves started coming in.  We would jump when one came, a game, and we were having a great time staying above the waves.  I could see Doug and his friends a few feet away.  Steph’s dad was somewhere in the water too.

A bunch of waves came in succession. We made each jump successfully.  And then the big one hit.  I jumped, but it wasn’t enough.  I didn’t come up over the wave, I got pulled under the water.  At first, I panicked.  I struggled to reach the surface… but something was pulling at my ankles.  I never learned to swim, something I was now regretting.

Time stood still.  I struggled to break the surface until I couldn’t anymore. Then, it was just… peace.  I could no longer hear the sounds of the beach or the water.  I could smell the water… it was, stale.  I saw dead fish and plants float by me as the current took me… somewhere.  And then there was blackness.

I opened my eyes and saw Steph’s dad and Doug hovering over me. They wrapped me in towels and told me to just sit there and dry off.  Steph looked like she had been crying.  She was shivering in a towel next to me.  We never spoke about this day or what happened… ever. When you got home your mother asked why you had returned early.  You told her about the day and that you had drowned.  Your mother had already been drinking and told you to stop being theatrical.  You were sent to your room.  When I got home you told me this story.