This was it. My blood was colder than the water now and I could feel myself shivering violently. All the feeling in my left arm was gone and the way it dangled lifelessly in the black water made me sick. If I don't get out of here, all of me will be like that. I tried to swim, I really did, but it was no use. My tongue was stained with the permanent taste of salt from the seawater that flooded my mouth. By this time, I had coughed so many times my throat was raw. I floated there in the water, barely keeping my head above the murky surface. Then it hit me, suddenly, as if my thoughts had been unblocked. I'm in the ocean. The same horrible mass of water that swallowed my parents whole without a second glance. I let out a hollow scream.
"Somebody help me!" I cried, the tears mixing with salt water like a messy painting on my cheeks. I tried to use my left arm to swim, but no matter how hard I tried, it remained still. My eyes remained unfocused, but close to the horizon, I could see some scattered lights. They were so far away, I couldn't tell exactly where they were coming from. I was lost in the big, black ocean, plain and simple. My hair was plastered to my forehead from a combination of sweat and water. Salt fell from the ends in little drips that stung my eyes. Whitaker, if you stay here, you have no chance of survival.
With that thought in mind, I tried to swim towards the little lights off in the distance. They seemed to be my only sign of hope. I found it odd that in the dead of summer, the water was frigid and cold. Nothing horribly unbearable, but cold nonetheless. My chest felt heavy every time I tried to breathe. I choked more often than I actually took in any oxygen. A raw feeling dried my throat completely and a numbness was spreading in my fingers and toes as waves danced around me. I became so focused on not drowning that I lost the lights somewhere in the foggy night. Squinting my eyes didn't help as I frantically scanned the sky. A shiver ran up my spine as an ominous feeling set in.
Small, cold rain drops began to dance in the water around me. They fell from the sky, slow at first, but quickly speeding up. It wasn't long until it was impossible to see anything between the thick rain, foggy sky, and my blurry vision. I coughed and choked trying to keep water from out of my mouth. My insides were stinging with a sensation that seeped into my skin and bones. Now, with the cold rain pounding down, I felt hopeless. Just like my parents, the ocean will claim my body as it's own. And with that, I started to cry even harder. The tears were salty and warm, but they did nothing to ease the sting of the horribly frigid water that surrounded me. I lifted my chin and wildly moved the limbs that I could. The rain made it impossible to keep my eyes open long enough to see much of anything. Sometimes, I thought that I saw a rock or cliff side, but after a moment's glance, it would disappear, melting into all the other dark masses of the nighttime.
The loudest roar of thunder I've ever heard in my life erupted through the sky. I screamed before slipping beneath the surface of the dark sea. I didn't dare open my eyes. I was so afraid of what I might see, like my parents corpses or their cruise ship, mossy and broken. Holding my breath, I kicked my thin legs like I was sprinting a marathon, longing to take a gasp of breath. I managed to pull myself back from under the water and inhale the salty air once again. This is when the ocean began to sway back and forth. Small waves pushed me underwater and then back up again. I was terrified. The rain continued to pour down in sheets of cold fire.
I gasped at a crack of lighting that split the sky down the middle. Parts of it frayed outwards, like seams stitching the night back together. It was the definition of horrifying beauty. I nearly let myself fall beneath the shore again before realizing that the lighting touched down somewhere. Far off, I saw the outline of a city. The tips of buildings and more little lights freckled the sky. I almost grinned. If I could just make it there, I'll be okay. I kicked my way closer to where I had seen the skyline. The lighting was long gone, but I refused to take my eyes off of what hazy outline had once been there. You're going to be okay, Wit.
I was so focused on that that I didn't realize how much bigger the waves had gotten. Or that I was swimming against them. My heartbeat was too fast and my limbs were too numb. I had to stop fighting the water, at least for second. A large, dark wave slammed down feet in front of me, but was enough to erase any progress if made. I refused to stop pushing towards where the lighting had touched the earth. It was my only chance at safety, my only chance for survival. More dark waves rolled against my skin, forcing me further back. I swallowed more disgusting water.
Another wave, bigger than the last, towered in front of me. I could feel it before it even smashed down on top of me. I took in a gasp of breath before I was forced under the surface. The cold water surrounded me and moved under my hair. I prayed to God and hoped was seaweed brushed passed my bare legs, causing goosebumps to rise on my pale skin. I kicked my legs in a desperate attempt to resurface. The slimy plants tangled around my legs, holding me just under the surface. No no no no. I couldn't breathe, my lungs burned with the need for air and it didn't come. Somewhere inside of me, I found strength to break free. I resurfaced and took the biggest gasp for air one could imagine. My strength seemed to be trapped below the surface, just out of reach.
Just after I gasped for air, another wave rose and fell with great force. I was pushed under again, with the same fears stabbing in my brain. I took in a gasp of breath, completely forgetting I was buried under water. Water flooded my nose and my eyes shot open, forgetting my fear of what I might see. Oh God, oh God, please no. Using any strength I had left, I fought to reach the surface. My lungs were burning as the flooded with saltwater. The surface seemed so far away that I couldn't even see it. Everything was dark and cold and I couldn't help but imagine if this is how my parents felt. My legs stopped kicking and my arms fell limp at my sides. I let the air slip through my lips as my eyes stared up at the surface that drifted further away. A small current carried me deeper into the sea as a hollow feeling set in my chest. This is it. All I'll ever amount to is in this moment, right now.
I was a boy. A boy who was afraid of the ocean. The blue mass of water stole my happiness all those years ago and here it was, taking me. I only stopped fighting because I realized, I wasn't afraid. The cold water actually felt calming weaving in between my fingers and wrapping around my body. And even though it was dark, I was calm. I wasn't afraid of anything, not anymore. And it was almost comforting as more water entered my nose and mouth and the life drained from my body, that I was going to suffer the same fate as my parents. That was something to bond over, something that drew my closer to my them. I love you, Cassandra Holloway, with everything I am. Thank you for everything Uncle Levi. I'll see you soon mom and dad. Those were my final thoughts before the burning in my chest subsided and I greeted death as just another part of life.
END
