It was the last day of Trish’s family vacation in Sicily, Italy, and they planned on spending it at the beautiful beach across from where they were staying: Hotel Villa Paradiso. After working on her sun tan for two weeks straight, Trish’s body was drained and in need of revitalization; she decided to sit in the shade, but boredom struck. After a short while, Trish decided to take a walk along the beach. Walking on the edge of the shore, she spotted glimmering fish in the turquoise water. The waves greeted her sandy toes and washed it away, only to return a few seconds later, encompassing them again with small pebbles and rough rocks. She was in awe. Even throughout her stay so far, she had not witnessed such a tranquil scene. She looked out farther into the ocean as the waves rolled over one another, as if they were fighting to see which would make it closest to shore. It looked like an animated postcard picture.

After walking about a half mile through the damp sand, Trish’s new friend Alice came into view. Trish met her at the bar, and they conversed about their shared love for margaritas and their homelands.

“I’m from Connecticut. Central Connecticut, actually. You?” Trish asked.

“I’ve never been, but I’m from upstate New York. Syracuse.” Their friendship developed rather quickly, and they found more and more in common: they each worked as waitresses over the summer, both interested in becoming counselors one day. Trish wanted to work with victims of crime; Alice dreamt of treating veterans with PTSD. The friends both had boyfriends, but complained about how annoying they were. “I can’t even with him sometimes!” They both said this. Over the course of their two-week holidays in Sicily, they even shared personal stories and details about their lives that they wouldn’t have otherwise known. They came from families of four, but wished they had more siblings. Trish had a dog, Miko, but he ran away.

“We think he knew it was his time. That, or he died after we let him outside and then was carried away by a coyote or something. I wish we knew, I just want closure. But it’s fine, nothing we can do about it now.” Alice wanted a dog, but couldn’t convince her parents to get one. In some ways, she envied Trish.

“Hey! Are you going out on a jet-ski alone? Do you want me to come with you?” Trish had been on a jet-ski before, many times. She was hesitant to go out into the deeper parts of the Mediterranean Sea with just Alice, but concealed her worry.

“Yeah sure! I figured since my last week here is coming to an end I’d try something I’ve never done before. I’m so excited to drive one, it’s going to be so cool!” The girls were next in line. The employee from their hotel handed them life vests. They climbed aboard the watercraft and started zipping around the sea, bouncing off of waves and enjoying every moment. Another pair of jet-skiers were doing donuts in the water.

“Trish, look at them! We should totally try that!” Alice yelled from the front. A daredevil, Trish thought. Great.

“Sure! Just be careful not to cut the corners too much!” Trish yelled back. Alice nodded her head. When she finally maneuvered the jet-ski into an area where she had open space, Alice revved up the motor and began doing tight-angled circles. The girls laughed and yelled with delight. Alice completed six donuts before she began to go straight again. As soon as she straightened out the steering wheel, the jet-ski was forcefully greeted with its own wake. It sent the jet-ski airborne, flipping it over and trapping Trish underneath. Her head was caught between the footrest and the center console.

“Help! Help! Please, somebody help us!” These were the only words Trish could hear from where she was under the water. It was Alice; she was free. “Trish where are you? Trish! Someone, please help!” She was frantic and desperate. Hopeless. The closest source of rescue was another pair of jet-skiers, but they were headed in the opposite direction. Trish’s body began to take in water. She held her breath for what felt like minutes, but, eventually, instinctually had to breathe in. The salty water flooded her throat and stomach, causing severe burning. She tried not to concentrate on the awful sensation. She couldn’t, and instead began sucking in more water than her body could hold. Her lungs filled with water like they were water balloons. Before she knew it, the bit of oxygen left in them was forced out. She was dying. Trish knew it, too. She had to get out from under. But how? Irrationally, she tried to lift the jet-ski off her head. Nothing. Her mind lacked logic. Her body lacked life. She started thinking about death; it was nearing. She could feel her body going limp, numb even, despite the warm water she was immersed in. This is it, huh? A drown victim. That’s how I’m going out. I didn’t even say goodbye. My friends won’t even know. No one will even… Similar thoughts were the only thing present in her ever-deteriorating mind. Only a few moments later, she fell unconscious.

Alice, still pleading for help and sobbing, spotted Trish’s highlighter-yellow life vest. It was partially stuck under the jet-ski and partially sticking out. It looked like Trish had slipped out of it. Alice panicked, convinced that Trish had sunken to the the navy blue ocean-bottom. She yanked it, and out came Trish. Unconscious and blue, Alice felt relieved and overcome with worry all at once. Alice had no training in this sort of thing. She felt useless. Helpless.

“Hey, hey! Are you okay? Can you hear me?” Trish offered no response. Her limp body felt cold in Alice’s arms, even though it had been submerged in the warm water for so long. Alice couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not, and the uncertainty made her uneasy. She tried to lay Trish’s body over the now-flipped jet-ski, but she kept slipping back off into the water. Alice pinned Trish between her body and the jet-ski so she could keep her above water. Exhausted, Alice let her head fall backwards so that the top of her head touched the water. When she looked back up a few seconds later, she could see a rescue crew on their way out to them. A crowd of people lined the shore. No one moved. Alice felt horrible. She knew it was her fault. If only she hadn’t decided to do donuts, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. If only she had done one less donut, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. If only…

The rescue team arrived, finally, and large, fit men jumped in to carry both of the girls on board. Alice explained to them what happened, and began crying again. The emergency personnel began CPR to try to revive Trish. They got back to shore within a minute and Trish still lay unconscious. A second man took over the chest compressions, while another continued to blow air down her throat. The other rescuers tended to Alice, though she insisted she was fine.

“Just help my friend! Please!” Alice put her head between her knees. A single tear ran from her eye, transferred onto her leg, and dripped slowly. It tickled, but not enough for Alice to wipe it away. She let it go until it reached her heel and ultimately the floor of the boat. She looked up again, just as the rescuers began to cheer. Trish was awake! She hadn’t spoken yet, but she was coughing up water and starting to breathe on her own again. Alice crawled to the other side of the rescue boat and, trembling, she whispered, “Oh, Trish! I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry!” Alice embraced her friend, though Trish was too weak to return the hug. Before giving a delicate smile, Trish mumbled back, “It’s okay. The ocean’s wrath...”.