Page 4 of Emi's Hero

Determined not to succumb to negativity, she focused on the positive.

The saltwater made it easier for her to stay afloat. Since it was still considered summer, the water temperature was relatively warm, though still lower than her own core temperature. The longer she was in the water, the colder she would get.

She had to keep moving. Not only to find land but to keep from getting hypothermia.

Minutes passed, the sun beating down on her, keeping her warm. The sunscreen she’d applied earlier probably had been washed away in the tumbling effect of the water spun up by the yacht’s propellers.

She couldn’t let that worry her as she alternated strokes between freestyle and breaststroke. When the muscles in her arms began to cramp with the effort, she flipped onto her back to rest and float, kicking her feet to keep moving.

The sun slowly sank toward the horizon, sparing her burning skin but taking the warmth with it. As darkness settled over the ocean, despair filled her chest. How could she keep movingthrough the night when exhaustion crept into every muscle, nerve and cell?

Sara.

She couldn’t give up. Dying would be the easy way out for Emi. But Sara had an entire life ahead of her. If she got to her soon enough. That beautiful little girl deserved a life. One filled with happiness and joy. Not the existence she’d been forced to live in from the day she’d been born.

Sara deserved to live.

Her daughter’s name became the mantra pushing her forward when she thought she had no strength left.

Sara. Sara. Sara.

Emi kept moving.

I can do this. I can make it another hour.

Stars blinked to life in the heavens above, lighting her way.

The sea calmed, making it easier for her to push on.

Another hour. I can do this. For Sara.

The night seemed to last forever.

Please. Please. Please let the morning sun rise. I’ll take a break. I’ll float. I’ll regain my strength.

She couldn’t stop in the dark. Her body was losing heat even as she moved. If she stopped, she might succumb to the cold.

Her daughter’s image swam into her mind. Her strawberry blond hair curling around her cheeks, her beautiful green eyes a mirror of her own looking into Emi’s soul, urging her to come back.

I’m coming, baby.

Sara. Sara. Sara.

When she thought she couldn’t lift her arms one more stroke or kick her legs one more time, the gray light of dawn lightened the horizon, giving her a direction to aim for. They’d left the island the previous morning with the sun at their backs, heading west. Surely, she would see land soon.

Her arms and legs hurt so much she had to flip onto her back and float.

Just for a minute or two.

Beyond tired, she could do nothing else. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out. The gentle rocking motion felt good. Too good.

Emi drifted off, waking with a start when water washed over her face.

“Can’t sleep,” she said, her voice nothing more than a whisper carried away on the ocean breeze.

Her eyes closed again.

Exhaustion claimed her.

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