Drifting from Home

Maya submerges underwater, going deeper and deeper as the tide pulls her further from the shore. As she’s fighting to break through the surface, she feels her breath begin to shorten. With one giant kick, her head appears above the salty water, and she can finally breathe. As she’s catching her breath and treading water, she realizes how far away her sail is from her.

2 HOURS PRIOR

“You can’t leave, Maya, it is too dangerous out there for a ten-year-old like yourself,” says her father.

“I hate it here! I have no friends and I want to explore the world!” she exclaims with a glimmer in her eye.

“Why can’t you just be more like your sister?” Maya’s mother questions sternly. Maya grew a lump in her throat and what once was a glimmer in her eye turns to defeat and emptiness. She storms out of her parents room into hers with tears streaming down her cheeks. An idea pops into her head, What if I left now? That way they could never find me. They don’t even love me anyways… and so she did. She frantically threw every piece of clothing she had into her burch woven bag and almost forgot one thing—her blanket that she'd had when she was little. She stares at it and cries even more, realizing she will never come back. This will be her only memory of home. Before becoming distracted and convincing herself this is a bad idea, she sneaks out of her hut at sunset and makes her way to the beach where her sail that she built stays. In her sail she has an underground level where there is a bedroom, kitchen, and a living space. She looks at her map and plans out her voyage to Hokomoka, a neighboring island that she heard was nothing like her boring village. They have lights, dancing, and weekly parties to celebrate everyone on the island. This was something she had dreamt of and it was soon to be a reality.

Maya pushes the sail into the aqua water and jumps on, getting ready.. She skips to get the sail started and notices the wind is perfect. As a couple hours pass, she puts her anchor into the water and falls into a deep sleep. 

She wakes as her head hits the side of the couch. Owww! she exclaims, still groggy from her short-lived nap. As she walks up the stairs to open the latch, she notices how wet it is. Did it rain? 

What she opens up the door to is startling. The sky is pitch black with lightning strikes breaking through the clouds. Not only is it windy, but there is a huge sea storm approaching. The waves are almost 20 feet tall, which could easily wipe out her sail. As panic floods her body, she thinks what can I do? There are no ships, no land, and no sign of life near her, only herself. 

As she tries to change the sail’s direction, the wind takes over the boom and whacks her in the head, knocking her off the sailboat. She blacks out for a split second—under water—only to wake up and realize that she is so far under she will have a hard time approaching the surface. As she feels her breath shorten, she makes one big kick, and her head pops up above the surface. As she coughs and hacks up the ocean water she has swallowed, she opens her eyes and notices how far her sail is from her. The waves and wind carries it so far away she realizes she is never going to make it. She is stranded at sea, during a sea storm, without food, water, or parents to guide her.

Growing up on an island had taught her many things, but one skill in particular—how to survive and swim. She realizes if she tries to swim somewhere she would become too tired and possibly drown, so as the storm calms down, she floats on her back. Thoughts of death, malnutritition, and missing home cross her mind, but she tries to keep a positive attitude. Then she remembers one thing, no matter—they will find me, she thinks. 

As seconds, minutes, and hours pass she stares at the sky, praying to God that someone will come looking for her, but no sign yet. No boats, no fish, no land, nothing. 

The sun starts to set on her first day at sea and she tells herself, tomorrow. Tomorrow they will find me. She drifts off into a light sleep as she hears voices in the distance.

“Maya!!?” screams her mother in despair.

“MAYA!?” her father follows.

Her eyes light up like they had before. They found me, they actually found me.

“I’M RIGHT HERE!” She screams in her loudest voice—but they can’t hear her. She frantically starts screaming louder so their boat wouldn’t pass her, but they are still too far away.

Maya comes up with an idea. She starts splashing fast, loud, while screaming. Finally they notice that she’s out there and their boat approaches. She gets a sudden burst of energy and swims closer and closer to the boat until she can clearly see their faces. They pull her inside of the boat and dry her off, give her water, and some crackers.

“What were you thinking? Why would you run off like that? You could’ve DIED!” Her father screams as she begins to cry. 

“I know; I’m sorry. I just wanted to feel seen,” she says looking at her feet.

Her mother and father wrap their arms around her and they all hysterically cry. Maya has never been more thankful in her life and regrets going against her parents. 

ONE WEEK LATER

“Maya I have a surprise for you..” says Dad with a huge grin on his face.

“Whaaaat?” Maya groans as she is completing her school work.

“I just bought a hut on Hokomoka that I think you will really like,” he says.

“Stop joking,” she says as she looks down at her notebook.

“No I’m not, we are moving tomorrow.” 

“No way. No way. NO WAY NO WAY NO WAY!?” she excitedly gets up and hugs him. She looks at him looking for clarification and she can tell this wasn’t a lie. Although she went against their wishes and almost died, they had finally seen her. She wasn’t the least favorite, rebellious child anymore—she was their exciting, adventurous, strong daughter, Maya.