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It was as if someone had shoved a stopper down her throat. She couldn’t breathe; the water surrounding her was pressing against her skin, crushing her, suffocating her.
Help.
The word drifted slowly into her mind, as if the ability to think was being carried away by the water closing in around her.
Please.
She had no idea why she was asking her for help, not when no one could hear her. As soon as the words formed in her mind, they slipped from her conciousness, drifting into the sea.
She couldn’t move.
Couldn’t think.
Couldn’t breathe.
Something hard closed in around her.
Death, she decided. It wrapped gently around her middle and pulled her upward, through the water. Fear flooded her for an instant, but then it was gone. It had to come sometime. Why not now?
But then the thing released her, pushing her forward. The tension around her released. Frozen salt air met her face. She breathed deeply, then felt herself falling into the water again. With a start, she pumped her legs. Then her arms. Anything to keep her head above the water. She gasped, drawing in the salty taste of the sea air with every breath. Opening her eyes, she saw a rowboat in the distance. Her thoughts from the sea leapt into her mind once more.
“Help!” she called. The rowboat kept moving. “Please!”
She heard shouts from the rowboat. All the while treading water, her exhausted body was ready to give out. The boat was slowly turning. She summoned her breath once more.
“Help!”
Couldn’t the boat move any faster? Any moment now she would fall back beneath the waves. It was coming toward her now, slowly. But it was coming. She couldn’t scream any more. It took all her strength to keep her head above the water. She gasped for air, her breath coming in sharp rasps. Strong arms gripped her shoulders, heaving her out of the sea. She felt the hard wood of a boat underneather her, heard voices around her. They meant nothing. A blanket was placed over her…or maybe it was a coat. She couldn’t be sure. Not of anything anymore. With a sigh, the girl closed her eyes in a dead faint.