Night had just started to fall and the stars sparkled above as the sun set in the west. The colors in the sky had all blended together, pink, orange, red, all fading into the horizon. She swung her legs over the edge of the S.S Titan and stared into the deep, treacherous waters below. They lapped up against the boat like a gentle giant slowly dozing off to sleep.


“Eliza!” cried her mother. “Get off that railing this instant!”


“Fine” she spat and slid off onto the deck.



“I’m going to put your little sister to bed. You’d better behave while I’m gone,” her mom commanded.


“Sure,” she lied.


She listened to her mom’s Prada heels click softer and softer and she got farther and farther out of her protective reach. “My family has to much money than they know what to do with,” she thought. She felt the beat from the top deck’s club pump through her veins and tried to tune it out while she focused on the calm slap of the waves against the enormous cruise ship. She sighed. This isn’t exactly the vacation she was hoping for. She wanted to climb mountains in the Himalayas, explore rainforests in Costa Rica, scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef, bungee jump off the Grand Canyon; anything but go on a cruise.


When she got back to reality, she realized her mom was no longer watching her. She simultaneously swung her legs back over the boat’s railing. A bright flash of light caught her eye as lightning struck in the distance. Thunder roared and suddenly, a huge wave shook the boat and sent her tumbling down into the deep waters below. Fear flooded her as much as the water around her. She thrust out from underneath the ocean sputtering and coughing, and attempted a cry for help but the cold waters silenced her. Trying again, she shouted for help, but the S.S Titan was drifting away, unaware she wasn’t onboard. She whipped her arms in a circular motion, thanking god for those professional swimming lessons she had got in the Caribbean. She started swimming furiously toward the boat desperate to reach it. At that moment, thunder boomed and a monstrous wave tugged her farther away. Silently, she cried to herself as the waves became bigger.
She closed her eyes for a second praying she’d wake up from this horrible nightmare.

“Dear God,

I should’ve listened to mom, but I don’t deserve this! Please get me out of here!” she prayed.

But when she opened her eyes, she was still miserably floating in darkness.


Thoughts of suicide filled her throbbing head. “I’ll just let myself sink down to the bottom of this wretched ocean…”
“NO” she shook the thought. “Now wasn’t the time to give up she decided. She wanted an adventure, didn’t she? Well here it was.” She took a look around, becoming tired of treading water, and saw a bit of land peeking out from above the moonlit ocean. Her clothes were starting to weigh her down and she could tell her sneakers had already left her feet vulnerable to the brisk water. So she slowly made her way, backstroking over to the little island. Flopping down on the sand she looked up into the night sky and tried to figure out where she was. The land wasn’t very large, and she couldn’t see the end of it through the dark night. She had nothing but the clothes on her back and she knew it was late. Her gray Cape Cod sweatshirt was soaked and her jeans ripped. A tear ran down her face before she stopped herself. This wasn’t the time for crying. Crawling under the nearest tree, she curled up in a ball to rest. The stars shimmered across the water and the flap of the waves slowly put her to sleep.


Morning came quickly and she awoke with a pounding headache. She reached for the throbbing spot over her ear. It felt like the waves were lapping up against her brain instead of on the sand. This was not happening. It was a dream. NO, it was a nightmare. Wrong again she corrected herself. This was her adventure. But when she thought about her family cruising along the Pacific Ocean without her she slouched over in despair. After a minute of sulking, she sat up and took a look around. She found she was surrounded by a mess of palm trees shading her from the light of day. Squinting, at the ground she noticed many brown spheres. Assuming they were coconuts, she scooped up the nearest one and attempted to crack it open on a sharp rock like she’d seen in many movies. WHACK, WHACK. She tried over and over and ended up chucking it at another palm tree in frustration. It hit the palm tree with enough force that it cracked down the middle exposing the rich milk inside. Subsequently, she stood up and left the canopy of trees into the bright Sunday morning.

Looking out into the ocean she thought she saw a little rowboat. But whatever it was, it was heading in the opposite direction and creeping out of sight. The water was clear enough to see many tropical fish swimming by. Secretly, Eliza wished she were one of those fish. So carless, so innocent. She dipped her toes into the water and began walking on the shallow part of whatever ocean she inhabits. Up ahead, she spotted smoke rising out of the middle of a group of trees. Her heart pounded hard in her chest and millions of questions rushed through her mind. Where’s the smoke coming from? Is there another human on this island? Is it a fire? Is the person evil? Nice? Young? Old? She debated walking over or staying away. “Well, I’m already trapped on a deserted island, what else have I got to lose?”


Cautiously, she wove her way in between the palm trees. As she got closer, the scent of smoke became stronger. It reminded her of the nightly bonfires at her summer camp. At last, she came to a large clearing and sitting smack in the center was a giant hole. It bubbled and broiled, lava rising up from the center. A thick smoke circled the hole like an eagle. All at once the hole continued to rise along with the lava and it expanded rapidly to almost twice its original size. From deep underneath her she could feel the heat of the lava warming her feet followed by a tremendous shake. It continued to get stronger and stronger until she felt the whole island beginning to sink like a boat anchor. Everything around her began to collapse like a million giant dominos. She immediately sprinted to the closest available non-falling palm tree and used every once of strength she had left to shimmy her way up to the dark green leaves at the top. Grabbing a hold of a strong looking coconut, she hoisted herself onto the top of the tree. Now, the island was descending fast into the water, still shaking immensely. Right then, moments before her death she heard her mother’s voice.

“Get off that railing this instant!”

“Why? Why hadn’t she just listened for once” She began to curse herself moments before her death. “Surely I’m going to die.” She thought. Her eyes squeezed shut as she prepared to go under, when a massive halt almost sent her flying out of the tree. The island had stopped sinking. She was sitting in that lone palm tree with nothing but ocean around her. Her feet were starting to cramp from perching on the tree for so long but she just sat there: unable to move. She was alive! Alleluia she was ALIVE! Waves had started to form and began splashing her lower calf. The water came up to half the palm tree and she and that tree were the only items that were still above water as far as the former island goes. All of a sudden, an enormous black cloud rolled in above and thunder roared. The waves grew do fast she couldn’t even remember when they had started. Before she knew it they were crashing above her head and she was clinging to the palm tree for her life. Just then, emerging from the lightning was a tiny speedboat. Its’ sirens were screaming creating a path of light through the sea. It was the rescue boat came looking for her! God had heard her prayer. The little boat came right up to her, close enough to step onto.

“Eliza B. Luck,” the stout man screamed. “Please grab onto the life preserver,” as he tossed a white and red circle into the vigorous sea. She ignored the rescuer and anxiously stepped onto the boat. Unfortunately, the split second she reached out to the boat, a wave came out from underneath the boat pulling her further away from the palm tree. The problem was, she was only half on the boat. One of her legs was planted on the boats small deck and the other was still clinging to the tree. She looked down at the churning water below and was startled by an awful memory. This was not going to happen to her again. She was not going to fall victim to these waters twice. In one quick movement, she grabbed on to the screaming rescuer and shifted all her weight onto the one foot standing on the boat. Once she was safely on the boat, the second man, struggling with the wind, finally reached the wheel. He slammed on the gas and sped off into the hectic storm. The first man grabbed her shoulders and thrust her onto the cold wet deck. Her legs felt a wave of relief lying down at last. He wrapped her up in a thick fuzzy blanket and began checking her pulse and her temperature.


Lying there on the boat, she almost started to cry. She started picturing her family in her mind. Thanks God, for giving me a second chance. She couldn’t wait to be in her own house in her own bed surrounded by her family. The waves had started to calm and she closed her eyes to rest. The rocking of the boat was soothing after her awful experience. The rocking became larger and she felt like she was flying through the sea spray and suddenly, she was falling. The rush of the sea air ran through her hair and she kept her eyes closed. Still falling, falling then nothing. She was sinking, sinking through a soft, cold atmosphere. Sinking, sinking in that mysterious ocean once again. And the Luck family continued waiting and waiting for Eliza to come home. But she never did, and she never will. And Eliza kept waiting and waiting to reach home. But she never did and she never will.