Page 25 of A Life Imagined
“Come on.I’m parked around the corner,” Mathias said.
The drive back to the house took them past the beach, dark and empty on a cold autumn evening.Rayan glanced over at Mathias and could tell from his pensive frown that he was preoccupied with this new information.
“Mathias,” he asked carefully.“Is someone targeting the business?”
Mathias remained silent.
“Does this have anything to do with that crate of smashed figures at the warehouse?”
“Christ, Rayan,” Mathias snapped.“Don’t you have enough to do without meddling in my shit?”
Whatever was concerning him, it was clear he had no interest in discussing it.Rayan turned to look out the window and saw a flash of light out in the ocean.It appeared only briefly before disappearing into the darkness.It was too close to shore for a commercial ship and the wrong time of day for a pleasure cruiser.
“Stop the car,” Rayan said.
“What?”
But Rayan was already pulling open the door.Mathias braked hard to bring the car to a stop on the side of the road.
“The fuck are you—Rayan!”
Rayan got out and heard a scream from the beach below.“A boat,” he said.Squinting, he could just make out the shape of a capsized raft floating in the surf.Around it, a handful of people bobbed up and down in the water as the waves pushed them under.A jolt of fear gripped him.“They’ll drown.”
“Rayan!”
Ignoring Mathias, he vaulted over the barrier down onto the sand.As he sprinted toward the ocean, he threw off his coat before plunging into the freezing water.While his ability had improved—a benefit of living close to the coast—Rayan still wasn’t a strong swimmer.But he knew who was on that raft—women and children without life jackets, weighed down by bags and heavy clothing.Whatever skill he possessed, it had to be better than what they were up against.
The waves battered him as he attempted to get closer to the boat.He could barely see in the dark, and the slap of salty water stung his eyes.He passed a man clearly struggling, his arms thrashing as his head dipped below water.Rayan reached for him and hooked a hand beneath one of his armpits, yanking him up.The man spluttered, calling out in a panicked voice what Rayan assumed were names.
He began tugging the man back toward where he thought the beach was, but it was impossible to tell.Everything was black and churning.The weight of the man kept pulling him under, and Rayan found himself swallowing mouthfuls of seawater, searing his throat.His limbs were impossibly heavy, already exhausted, and he had trouble keeping himself afloat.He felt the cold grip of panic and desperately tried to stay calm as he fought frantically against the unforgiving swirl of the sea.
After what felt like a lifetime, Rayan’s feet brushed land, and he launched himself and the man onto the shore, coughing and heaving.Around them on the beach was a scatter of people, drenched and sobbing.The man staggered upright, wrenching at Rayan’s shoulder, and repeated the names over and over, his face white with fear.
“Your daughters?”Rayan asked, still fighting to pull air into his lungs.
“Please help me find them.”
Rayan’s eyes snapped back to the ocean.The raft had disappeared, and the sea was an angry, frothing spray of waves.His heart dropped.If they were still out there, they didn’t stand a chance.
“They might be here,” Rayan offered weakly, gesturing at the people around them.“Do you see them?”
The man scanned the group gathering on the sand, shaking his head frantically.
Then farther down the beach, Rayan spotted a flash of yellow as someone emerged from the water, clutching a bundle of skinny limbs wrapped in a fluorescent life jacket.
“Amina!Zahra!”the man screamed and began running toward the figure.
Rayan followed closely at his heels.It was only when he got closer that he realized it was Mathias.The man’s chest heaved beneath his sodden white shirt, and in his arms, two little girls clung to him for dear life.
Mathias had gotten out of the car and stared uncomprehendingly at Rayan sprinting down the beach toward the sea.His mind had clouded with a rapid succession of nightmare scenarios.Then he tore off his jacket, yanked his phone out of his pocket, and tossed both into the driver’s seat.He left the keys in the ignition, pitying the poor soul brazen enough to steal it, then slammed the car door and headed down to the sand.
When Mathias made it to the black, turbulent water, Rayan had already disappeared.Cursing the man and his blind stupidity, Mathias surged into the ocean after him.
His clothes pulled him under as the waves crashed over his head.He refused to think about how Rayan, far less confident in the water, was faring.The sea was rough and choppy, which was likely why the raft had overturned.There was no shortage of stories about them in the newspaper—cheap and hastily constructed vessels that had little chance of staying afloat in a swimming pool, let alone crossing the English Channel.Smugglers often cut corners by refusing to provide life vests, leaving their passengers at the mercy of the elements.
It was just another sad fact among an avalanche of sad facts about the world that Mathias tuned out.He didn’t see the point of languishing in other people’s suffering.That was, until he unwittingly found himself in the thick of it, trying to save the reckless idiot of a man he happened to love.
As Mathias swam through the water, he passed several others heading back to the shore.He scanned their faces but didn’t spot Rayan.He struggled to control his breathing, which quickened with exhaustion, his body no match for the unrelenting batter of the surf.
