Member-only story
This Happened to Me
When I was Ten Years Old, I was Swept Out to Sea
How a day at the beach almost killed me
When I was ten years old, I was swept out to sea.
My older cousin and her boyfriend had invited me to go to the beach that day, and I was super excited. It was a gorgeous summer morning, and Jen was my favorite cousin. I had a bit of a fangirl thing going on for her. I wanted to be her. She was 17 years old, beautiful and popular, and a cheerleader, too. She was easily the coolest person I knew.
When we got to the beach, we were pleasantly surprised to find it relatively uncrowded. We picked our way across the gleaming white sand, the surface so hot from the sun’s rays that it burned the bottoms of my feet. We set up camp in the most secluded spot we could find, tucking the corners of our blanket under the sand so it wouldn’t blow away in the wind.
The sea was as warm as bath water. The waves were fairly high, their white, foamy tops breaking powerfully against the shore. The three of us stood in the surf just past the breaking point, where the swells would lift us momentarily off our feet and then set us back down again. I felt weightless. Carefree. The sea was magic.
