As the cool autumn breeze blew strands of hair into my darkening navy eyes, I shivered slightly, partly from the unexpected cold but also at the thought of the near presence of winter, which would mean the end of days like these, weeks of sunlit camping, and months of summer happiness with my family. Being 17, I somehow feared the idea of school coming to an end and taking “life as we know it” away too. I dreaded the thought of having to go out into the world, of starting my own life. I felt as if I kept on going along with this same routine, this incredibly normal life, I would lose all my sense of originality, my option of being different. As a kid I always hoped I would be different to everybody else, I guess I somehow expected I’d have defied society by the time I became an adult. But I haven’t got much longer to go, and I haven’t made a difference, I haven’t changed or saved anybody, I’m just like everybody else, you wouldn’t be able to point me out of a crowd. I guess I’ve always developed my mother’s appearance, caramel hair that curls at end, wide navy blue eyes, and a plain skinny frame, I had never been given the benefit of much of a curvy body. Which was what set me and my mother apart, Cyan, she was beautiful, she was 41 and she still had people turning heads for her, despite the fact my features resembled hers, I still thought we were somehow completely visually opposite, everything about her looked striking, her eyes stood out like an iris flower in the desert. I didn’t entirely resent my appearance, I just wished that someday I could be half as beautiful as my mum. A distant petrified cry broke my train of thought. I leaned closer to the hill I was standing on to look for any sign of the voice’s owner. My eyes rested on what I made out to be a boy, down by the rock crevices not too far from where I stood. His leg appeared to be stuck in between two rocks and bleeding, I couldn’t make out if it was badly or not, but as I looked out behind him I saw a wave approaching him, nearing him faster and faster like a nebulous snake slithering towards it’s helpless prey. I knew then if he didn’t get out the wave would crash on him, he would be thrown onto the rocks and be seriously injured or even killed. I didn’t hesitate, I started running down the hill that lead to the rockery below. As he came closer into view I could see he was struggling in an intent to release himself from the two rocks that held him trapped, only resulting in the increase of blood. When he saw me a sign of relief washed over his face. He tried to move toward me, opening a gash in his knee and winced “Stay still” I yelled over the coming wave, growing larger and more powerful with every meter. I could easily assume we didn’t have much time left. “Look, I’m going to try and get you out of here” He shivered and exhaled a cloudy breath of fog. “No hurry” He said with a painful smirk. My mind was in a panic, my thoughts tripping over each other. Then I caught sight of something from the corner of my eye. I went to pick up a dead trunk lying a few feet away from me. “Ok, I don’t know if this is going to work, but we have to try, I’m going to dig this into the rock and try and heave it up, when I say so, wiggle your leg as much as you can” I picked up the log and went to put it in place, but he suddenly grabbed my wrist before I could do it “Look, if this doesn’t work you have to promise to leave me here, go get help or something, but don’t stay, that wave is about to hit, and it’ll bring us both down if we don’t leave soon, I don’t want you to get hurt because of me, I don’t want to be responsible for..” He trailed off as I broke his stare and forced his hand off my arm. “I won’t let you die” I cried, I could feel tears stinging at the back of my eyes. The sudden change of scene had put my emotions on edge, but I kept one thought in mind. I would do whatever it took to keep this boy alive. The wave was quickly creeping on to us, so it was now or never. He was about to argue when I yelled “NOW” I closed my eyes, and put all my strength into lifting the rock. I heard him yelp as I felt the weight of the rock release off the log. He was freed, and panting, he grabbed my hand and started to run for the shore. The wave roared behind us, crashing down on the rocks. We collapsed on the shore, breathless, our bodies tense with adrenaline. I turned my head to look at him, really look at him. His dark hair was pasted to his forehead with sweat, his soft green eyes sparkled with intensity. His wet shirt hugged his muscles placidly on his chest. He was gorgeous, and seemed completely vulnerable in the evening sun. He let out a breathy laugh. Gathered my hand in his and buried his face in it. A muffled “Thankyou” was all he said. I laid my eyes on his injured knee which was spilling with dark blood, I leaned over to see it clearly and realised how deep it was. He was losing a lot of blood, he needed to go to the hospital, now. I ripped off a piece from the thin cotton skirt I wore. I bent over to bandage his leg as best as I could, he flinched sharply, he seemed to be in a lot of pain, and slowly drifting in and out of consciousness. In the distance I could hear sirens, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it would be too late. “Stay with me, stay with me please.” I waled gently but with an edge of urgency. He looked up at me slowly, studying me intently. His lip crooked up at the corner. “My name’s Liam, by the way” He said in a husky voice, he locked his eyes with mine, I held his gaze unable to pull away. And then I realized I needed him to live, I needed for him to be alright. By the time the ambulance came he was unconscious. They placed him into the truck and drove away. He was gone, just like that. From then on I knew there was nothing left i couldn’t do to help him. But I couldn’t help but silently plead that he would be ok, he had to be.
