Trying her best to restrain herself

“Alright Eva,” I say out loud, the sound of my voice grounding my panic-stricken brain. “Think through this. You’re wearing a life vest, good. You’re a strong swimmer, good. You have no idea where you are, bad. You’re going to die without water in three days, very bad.”

I kick myself because that kind of thinking is not going to help me in the slightest.

“Alright think, think, think. What should I do?”

Suddenly, I hear a cawing sound from the sky. Looking up, I spot a sea gull soaring lazily on the breeze. My heart leaps because a sea gull means there’s a shore somewhere, right? Even if it’s not the right one, at least it’s land.

I begin to swim, following the bird towards the afternoon sun, obviously heading west. Keeping up with the seagull is difficult because of the waves, and soon, I feel like I’ve been swimming for hours. My arms and legs are shaking and I’m extremely thirsty, but I keep going, knowing that it’s life or death if I don’t.

After a while, the sun begins to disappear, and panic rises once more. I don’t want to be out in the ocean alone while it’s dark. But at least I start seeing more sea gulls, which means that they likely nest somewhere nearby. Seagulls live on land, right? God, I hope I haven’t been wrong about this all along.

Then, a thin strip of beach appears in the distance, and I feel tears come to my eyes. I’m saved! Swimming faster than I thought possible, I make my way towards it, desperately trying to reach shore before nightfall. The current is making it extremely difficult and I can feel a stitch forming in my side as I splash my way through the waves. It’s sheer determination keeping me going at this point because my arms and legs feel like dead weights.

Finally, my feet touch sand and I manage to crawl out onto the beach. The waves grab at my hands and feet, as if trying to pull me back into the ocean, but using my last ounce of strength, I clamber onto the safety of the sandbar. Then, I collapse on the soft sand, crying with mixed exhaustion and adrenaline. God, did that just happen? Did I almost just lose my life? Where am I, anyways? But I’m too tired to care, and pass out, everything going dark at once.