The Stranger in the Lifeboat

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—nothing. Then I turned backward.
The raft was right behind me.
I grabbed the safety rope along its side. Whoever had been waving that
flashlight was gone. I can only imagine he or she was thrown off by those
waves. I tried to look for a body in the water, but another wave began curling
into form, so I gripped the rope with both hands, and instantly I was tossed
again. I lost all sense of up or down. I squeezed that rope so hard my
fingernails broke the flesh of my palms. But when I burst through the surface,
I was still holding on.
I pulled myself along the outside of the raft until I found a handle for
boarding. I tried three times to yank myself in. I was so weak, I failed each
try. Now another large wave was forming. I didn’t think I could hang on
through that one. So I screamed into the darkness, a guttural “EYARRRRGGG!”
And with every ounce of strength I had left, I heaved myself over the side
and fell onto the black rubber floor, panting like a mad dog.