Saved

• Dasuni Ralapanawa, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2010

I raced as speedily as a cheetah to the cool waters of the beach. The sand pinched my bare feet. The smell of salty water rushed in through my nose. The wind silently whistled past my ear. My mum, who can’t even swim, yelled at me to come back but I didn’t care. This moment just couldn’t be ruined. “Max, come back! It’s not safe!” she yelled.

As I sat along the golden sand I lifted up a nearby rock. Crabs marched solemnly like soldiers from out of the rock. The glistening white coloured waves created beautiful shining crystals as they splashed against the rocks. The seagulls silently flew above my head.

Finally I dived into the water. The water was freezing cold like the sea of Antarctica. While I was swimming I could see a school of brightly coloured fish. As I came closer they all started scattering around.

When I was swimming back to the shore I saw a huge wave behind me. It was twice my size. I tried to swim faster but the wave quickly engulfed me. “Aaaaaaaargh!” I screamed with my last breath.

I was being pushed down towards the ocean floor. It felt like my lungs were going to burst out any second, but I kept holding on trying not to breath underwater. I knew I couldn't keep doing this forever.

Suddenly I felt two arms pulling me up towards the surface of the water. I couldn’t see clearly who they were but I saw the lady had...brightly red and gold coloured earrings. Then everything went black.

I woke up, “Where am I?” I wondered. I wasn’t surely in the beach because there were no waves or golden sand.

“You’re awake!” my mum exclaimed.

“Are you alright darling? Does it hurt anywhere? Can you still see properly? Is it hard to breath now?” my mum questioned worriedly.

“I’m alright mum,” I replied calmly. She breathed a sigh of relief. Dramatically I noticed something – her earrings – brightly red coloured earrings.

Could she be the women who saved me?

“No! No! No!” I thought, “she just can’t be the one saved me because she doesn’t even know how to swim.”

Or does she?