The Journey of Escape

It seemed like an eternity during the next few minutes while he was under the water, trying to hold his breath and struggling to break through the bubbling foam. Finally the life jacket Ron was wearing floated him to the surface and freed him from his watery grave.

He gasped in large gulps of precious air and at the same time choked on the persistent waves of salt water washing over his head. Several times he screamed and then remembered the whistle that was attached to his life vest. He blew it repeatedly as he watched in horror while his life long dream sailed away from him. All the while the relentless sea continued to threaten his life by tossing him around as a cat does a mouse. Fatigue impaired him while he struggled to keep his head above water. He felt like he was a tiny bottle slowly filling with water, threatening to sink at any moment and be lost forever. The pungent seawater caused him to choke painfully with each breath. It burned his throat making it raw. Ron had never been a religious man, but after a while he stopped struggling, laid back and began to pray.

As she looked out into the cockpit, Emerald heard the terrifying howling of the wind in the rigging. It sounded like the shrill eerie scream of a wild animal caught in a trap. Salt spray was blowing over the stern of Escape as the roaring breakers crashed behind her and washed underneath, lifting the sailboat up and down as if she were simply a tiny cork.

“Ron, Ron, where are you?” Emerald yelled loudly. Her voice was muted by the sounds of the storm. A sense of doom began enveloping her like a sheet of utter darkness as she discovered her friend was not to be found on the deck. A huge wave crashed over the railing, catching her by surprise. She turned her head wiping the salty water from her face on her sleeve. Clinging to the handholds on the steps she descended to the cabin below.

Once below she steadied herself against the table and screamed again. “Ron, Ron, are you down here?” She worked her way along the main salon careful to hang onto the hand grips placed strategically along the way, to the head, thinking he may be in there. She found she was alone. She started to sob as the stark reality of the situation began to surface. “Oh God, he must have fallen overboard.”

Ron’s first night of floating alone in the ocean was so miserable he wished he could die and get it over with. Once the sun went down he was shivering from the cold air. Pulling his legs up to his chest he began to drift in and out of consciousness. He began to imagine things. Something touched his leg and made him scream out in fear. He tried to think of other things, happier times and anything but sharks.

The night passed ever so slowly, laced with re-occurring nightmares. In his sane moments he thought of beautiful Emerald and hoped she would know how to call for help and be able to sail Escape safely alone. Ron struggled to see above the ocean swells for a light of any kind on the horizon. He desperately prayed to be rescued.  His mind teetered back and forth between hope and despair.

The bright orange sunrise was extremely painful to his already burning eyes. Watching the sunrise each morning was something he used to enjoy. It was his favorite time of day, before most people are awake and the world is still quiet. He loved the tranquillity of the ocean and living on a sailboat. Now it seemed as if he would die trying to pursue his dream. His hands and feet were cold and getting numb and he was very sleepy. The last thing he remembered thinking before drifting off again was I hope Emerald enjoys the fortune she will inherit.