She clung onto a piece of driftwood, praying for daylight. Around her, the sea and the fading storm echoed in her ears, blocking out every other sound. A huge wave slammed into her and she clung to the plank with all her might. Trying not to cry out and keep her eyes shut, she let the wave roll over.
The driftwood popped out and she come up with it. Spluttering and gasping for breath, she opened her eyes and tried to looked through the darkness. She could not see anything but the dark sea and the black sky. Tasting nothing but salt in her mouth, she pulled herself further up the plank and tightened her grip.
She wanted to rest her head on the wood, exhaustion was dancing before her, but somehow the strength came back to her as another wave came and sent her into a spin. Fighting down a scream, she let the sea do it’s worse whilst still praying for daylight and land.
The wave hit, catching her the skirts of her dress and dragging her down. She wrestled against the current then she popped up again, dragging in lung fulls of oxygen. Untangling her hand from her skirts, she clutched the board again.
Something hard brushed her bare feet. What was it? She tried to explore more with her toes, but couldn’t decided if it was rocks, the sea floor, an animal or something else. Trying not to panic and knowing she did not have the energy for it, she let the next wave carry her further forward.
Fighting the pull back, she put her feet down and felt confident it was only rocks under her. Battling the sea, she walked using the plank to keep her a float. Suddenly, the rock changed and she felt sand between her toes. Crying out, she used the last of her strength to struggle onto the shore.
Climbing up out of the sea’s reach, she collapsed on to the sand and hugged herself. Trying to look around, she saw the beach was as dark as the sea. A bolt of lighting far in the distant had her gaze darting back. A rumble of thunder followed, but it was nothing compared to the roaring of the sea.
She carried on watching, but could not see anything else then there was a glow of light on the horizon. She watched it growing and slowly realized it could only be the coming dawn. Her prayers had been answered.
The Story Files 