Short Story

“Honey look out the window, enjoy the view” my dad says while drinking out of his white cup with the Dunkin donuts logo on the side. He keeps reading every sign we pass, every restaurant, every store he says out loud for the whole car to hear. I think this is his way of memorizing and remembering where we are. He’s wearing one of his red firefighter shirts along with jean shorts and his work boots. He always wear white long socks underneath. We used to make fun of him but that seems to be the style nowadays. My mom sits beside him in the passenger seat with her bottle of diet pepsi in her hand. She takes a sip and it bubbles up in her nose. She gives a little sneeze then laughs. To my right is my sister who is now twenty one years old. Her hair has turned more into a blondish brown than when she was younger. It was a deep brown like chocolate that reached all the way down to her butt before, no one really knows what happened.  She’s beautiful, every part of her. But then again, she is my big sister. I grew up with her, know every part of her even when she annoys me to the extremes, you gotta love the girl. She;s wearing her black sunglasses that match her vans. She has on her old band t-shirt with short black shorts. Her headphones are in right now and shes staring blankly out the window. I always wonder what she thinking about. Anyways, to my left is my older brother who is also staring out the window. I don’t know why no one is talking, maybe because that will just start a fight...who knows. My brother is twenty three but still acts like he’s ten. His brown hair slides into his ocean blue oceans and he swipes it away. Being the youngest, I am forced into the middle of them. I always used to complain about sitting there but now honestly there’s no point. I guess it’s either I sit in the middle or the roof of the truck so I guess I’ll pick here. The wind is continually blowing my strawberry blonde hair into my contacts. My three dogs bark in the back of the truck, complaining that they want to get out.

“We’re almost there puppies!” my moms screams trying to make them settle down. They loved her more than anyone in the family, all of my dogs did. Sometimes I think they would die if they were ever separated from her for too long, especially one of the little ones. Looking out the window I see the ocean ahead of me. It’s a thin horizon of blue off in the distance. My dad slams on the brakes when a pedestrian decides to run out on the street from nowhere. My head slams the seat in front of me, and my mom ask if I’m okay. “Yeah, I’m good” I let out a little giggle. We drive past people walking down the sidewalk, past all the shops downtown, past all the motels. I can smell the salt water blowup my nose. I've weirdly learned to enjoy the smell.

Finally, we reach our house. I've always dreamed of this moment. I jump out of the truck and sprint inside. I can’t believe it’s ours! It’s our own beach house, something that I have always wanted. My feet are barely under me as I run inside. Looking around, all I see is the future. It was surreal to be there in that moment. My family follows behind me and my mom lets out a scream right in my ear and hugs me. I think she’s the most excited out of the group.  

A week within arriving to the house, everything seemed to be in place. It felt like home here already. It even smelt like home when walking through the door. I decided to go for a swim. My father warned me to stay inside because a storm was coming but I left anyway. I wanted to take a break and be by myself for a little while. I walk the five minutes to the beach barefoot, in my bikini and cover up. The sky was turning into a grayish black, but I continued anyway. My feet hit the sand and I curl my toes into.. There is nothing better than being on the beach alone. I look in both directions and I see no one. I make my way to the water and the waves ripple over the feet. I slowly go deeper and deeper into the water until I feel the coldness on my stomach. It gives me a little shock and I squeal. Finally I dive in and feel the water emerge around me and cover my head. I kick my legs and swish my arms to go further out. Thunder starts to crack in the distance, the sky looked like a painting. Almost as if an artist twirled his paint brush around in grays and blues to create the clouds in the sky. I don’t want to leave this spot even though I know I should. I continue to swim hoping the storm will just pass. The waves start to get very aggressive and my feet are getting pulled out from underneath me. Suddenly I’m in a undertow and the water splashes all around me. I reach the surface and scream out but there is still no one around. I’m going to die here, like this.  I think of my father and how I should have listened to him. I swallow a gulp of salt water, my eyes burn, I can’t see anything around. My body gets pulled back and forth like the ocean is playing with me. I’m helpless, useless.  Suddenly everything just goes black.

Everything seems as if it has withered away. Nothing has been the same since the accident. I feel funny, weird, as if I’m here but I'm not. I open my eyes to the bright sun coming in through the window, except it’s not my window. This isn’t my room, or my bed and these are definitely not my clothes. Where the hell am I? I see nurses scurrying around in the hallway. Mostly women, their hair up in a buns while wearing scrubs of different colors. I can still taste salt water in my mouth, my lips seem to be all cut up and dry. I need water but the nurses can't hear me. I scream out, yet nothing. Isn’t this their job? Aren’t they suppose to help? I look to the side of the bed and see a button, I click it and see a nurse look down at her waist. She has some type of pager on and runs into my room. Her red scrubs move with her hips as she’s making her way over to my bed. She smiles and all I see are pearly whites surrounded by bright red lipstick. Her black hair is pulled back showing off her perfect complexion.

“Well hello there sweetie! It’s nice to see you awake” The nurse says cheerfully, but there was something she was hiding, I could tell. She looks away from me quickly. “Do you need anything? Water?” I reply with a simple yes. Then a handsome doctor walks into the room, he has a clipboard and walks over to the desk next to me. The nurse leaves and it’s just him and I. I read his name tag, Dr. Johnson was printed in big bold letters in the center. He looks at me then and I think of my family. I wonder why they aren't here with me. The only thing I remember is going for a swim in the ocean and looking up at the sky. The rest is a blur in my memory. He tells me then that I have been in a coma for quite some time. Apparently there was someone on the beach that day during the storm. They must have been watching me, looking after me. They were the one that brought me to this hospital. However, they didn't leave a name when they brought me here. I hear the doors smash open and it’s my family. They come running over to me and hug and kiss me.

Five years later I’m saying my vows at the alter. I look across to my husband to be to see him staring at me in awe. My white dress flows down my body with buttons up all up the back. He then starts to tell me his vows, by describing the ocean. The way the waves crash upon the shore and swallows all the shells in its path. How sometimes the water can be gentle and calm then turn aggressive and full of hatred. How he saw a beautiful girl going for a swim one evening when she should have really been at home with her family. When she thought she was the only one on the beach, she wasn't. How she thought she would seize the opportunity but ended up taking it for granted. He describes the sky and how it looked like a painting of gray and blue. Watched as the water turned on into crashing waves and swallowed her whole just like she was a shell. He heard her scream out while he was on his porch drinking his coffee. He runs to her, diving when he hits the water to get to her as fast as possible. She walked right past his house that day, not even noticing him. He grabs her arms and pulls her through the water to the shore. He puts his ear to her chest but didn't hear a beating heart. Cradling her in his arms, he runs to his truck in the distance at his house. He lays her in the back and jumps into the drivers seat. He speeds to the hospital and gives her to the doctors. Later on he leaves, he’s not sure why himself he left. The only thing he knew was that faith would bring them together again. And five years later this is where they are, standing across from each other reading their vows.

It was my husband who saved me that day. He was looking out for me before I even knew him. He told me later on that night that he was waiting for the perfect moment to tell me and that was definitely the perfect moment.