A Close Call

• Maia Amor, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2014

A light breeze tickled the back of her neck and fluttered behind her. Blades of grass swayed around her bare feet and whispered in the breeze. She stared out at the southern Italian coastline. Waves licked the rocks and retreated to the murky evening sea. Although dark, the ripples of small white-tipped waves peeked above surface and she admired them. She wandered to the nearby lighthouse, making her way carefully around stones that lay across the pathway.
The lighthouse was seldom visited, therefore dusty, and the scent of mildew hung in the air. It was a short lighthouse, designed to guide small fishing boats nearby. It was white with a red tip and looked like an old deserted tower.
She brushed away clingy cobwebs and tiptoed around the lighthouse towards the rocks. Carefully climbing, she spotted small shellfish glued to the rocks. Her heart skipped a beat as her left toes wobbled on a loose slab. As she regained balance, she realised the dark tide was creeping up on her.
Peering over a bulky rock, she found a small rock pool. Where the water had collected, a shallow sheet of algae grew. Specks of shell and sand drifted, and then sunk slowly to the bed of the freshly filled pool. Lurking in the shadows beneath the water lay a beautiful shell; it moved and turned over.
She immediately recognised it as a meat eating creature because the shell’s mouth was shaped like a ladle. She sat down and watched, curious and intent, as the shell-bound creature moved around the rock pool. Standing up and looking around she realised that time had gotten away. She was surrounded by seawater. Only a couple of rocks lay around her. The powerful waves crashed against the rocks and sea spray sprinkled over her. She shivered as the cold water sank into her thin cotton shirt.
“Help!” she cried out, “Someone help me!”
Uncle Marco and Aunt Sofia came rushing out of the dimly-lit cottage.
“Lina, what’s wrong?” shouted Uncle Marco.
“I’m stuck out on the rocks, the tide has come in!” cried Lina.
“Hold on, I’ll grab the raft!” he yelled.
Lina waited on the cold rocks as her Aunt watched from the shore. Uncle Marco emerged from the shed with the raft. He waded into the water, set the raft down and paddled towards where Lina stood on the rocks. Water slopped into the raft as Uncle Marco, determined to help his niece, paddled towards Lina. Cold, wet, yet persistent, he managed to get to the rocks where she was stranded.
“Thankyou Uncle Marco, I won’t go wandering when the tides come again,” she apologised. She climbed into the raft and they quickly hugged.
Later on, Lina was taking the sheets off the washing line. She couldn’t stop thinking about her adventure and the sea creatures that lurked in the rock pool. She made a mental note to herself to find the pool another day to do some sketching.
Just as the signs that dusk was turning to nightfall became noticeable, she heard a voice from the cottage.
"Lina," called Aunt Sofia, "La cena è pronta!"
As Lina came up to the house, she smelt the cooked pizza dough coming from the oven and her stomach began to growl. Boy was she hungry!