Face down in the muddy water, she lifted her head slowly, ever so slowly. Looking around, with vision blurred, adding to her fear and confusion. Her long hair fell over her face like seaweed - wet and dirty. Her body ached everywhere. She was tossed about in the sea, finally spitting her out onto dry land like Jonah from the belly of the whale.
She wondered if any bones were broken. She waited for a few moments to see if pain would begin now that she was conscious. It didn't seem so. With great effort she turned herself over onto her back like a beached fish, flopping around on the sand. She felt her bones were full of cement. Or was that sea water? She felt heavy and weighed down like never before in her life.
Still confused not knowing where she was nor what happened to her. Lifting her head slightly, painfully, she saw the shipwreck just off shore. She could wade to it. It was so close. Laying there on the jagged rock mass like a crippled sailor.
She could see that she was in a cove. A rock mass had formed a natural barrier from the open sea, where the water was warm and the beach curved at the waterline. An ominous feeling swelled in the pit of her stomach. This was not good. Nothing that she saw or that was going through her mind was good. She was alive though. Surely that was a good thought.
Hannah's vision began to clear. As she looked around herself very slowly, she noticed boxes, crates, cartons, bits of wood washing up on shore. Being pushed again and again by the subsiding storm waves. Some of which were banging into her. She was going to have to shift herself but felt like a ton-weight. As if the waves were hitting her telling her to get up.
Her gaze followed the debris that was scattered around her on the beach. With a fright she noticed something or was it someone, lying quite a distance from her? She did not know what it was, for a long time. As she continued to stare at the lump she realized that it was a man lying there. Terror grips her, mostly for fear that he was dead. What on earth would she do with a dead body? How could she bury it?
She found the strength to get up although laboured, she groaned with pain. She had been in a fight with the sea in the dark, but she did not win the battle. For some reason the sea chose not to devour her that night. It chose to let her live to see another day. Cautiously she stumbled over to him. He was lying face down in the sand. Using all the strength that she had left, with great effort, she rolled him over on his back.
Believing him to be dead. With horror of touching a stranger - a man - that was not her husband, she drew close to his chest with her ear then lifted herself up again, not wanting to touch him, realizing that she could not hear his heartbeat, or at least if her ear was not touching his chest. Reluctantly she put her ear to his chest, hearing his heart beat, it was there albeit weak. His breathing shallow. The sun was beating down on them. She made a shadow with her body over his face to have a good look at him. He was very handsome indeed. Jet black hair and a tanned rugged face. Very masculine. No weakness visible. Wearing a sailor's suit she remembered seeing him on the ship. Although it was difficult to identify him with muck on his face. He was waterlogged as well. Just like her, the storm, the ship and the sea had beaten him up last night.
With trepidation she sat down beside him and looked around further searching for other survivors. Not seeing any other people, eventually the realization struck her that it was just the two of them. She realizes that she was alone with this man on this beach. Where were they? Were they on an island? Could they figure it out? Fear gripped her again thinking that she would be alone with this man. Could he be trusted? Would she come to harm? What could she do?
Hannah understood quickly that he was her only hope for survival. She felt quite helpless for the longest while. Tears sprung to her eyes as she felt terribly alone. She looked over at her only companion.
