To Save a Life

A Story by Kelley Quinn

Super short story. Wrote it two years ago. Was an assignment for school, so it was rushed.

The lake on that day reflected the sunlight like a freshly cleaned mirror. Shrieks of happiness came from everywhere. Splashes from people falling into the water came every couple of minutes. Shampoo from people taking showers in the lake drifted by me. Someone called my name and I turned to my left. There stood my friend, Jonathon.

For the past hour we had been pushing one another into the water, trying to defeat the other. At this time, we were even. One last push would decide the winner. I could see the evil glint in his eye as he crept toward me. Closer and closer he came; hands outstretched in front of him. My mind told me to dodge, but there was nowhere to go.

My hero arrived. Before I knew it, Jonathon was floating in the water, distress planted like evergreen on his face. Laughter burst out of me. My hero grinned at me as my eyes met hers. My sister sure knew how to barge in at perfect moments. But that wasn’t the end of her victory march.

Our outing to the lake was coming to an end. All the towels were packed, all the shampoo dissolved away, and almost everyone who had been there, was gone. The dock that I was laying across was connected to a second dock that led to the lakefront. I was turning the corner to go onto the second dock when suddenly, to my surprise, something thrust me into the water. Of course, my mind immediately pointed a finger at Jonathon. Amusement bubbled through my thoughts as I planned on congratulating him once I got out. But I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. A chain wrapped around my legs, preventing my body from coming to the top of the water.

Familiar arms enveloped me and the chain surrounding my leg eased its hold. My lungs no longer felt like lungs once they hit the surface, but I flooded oxygen into them nonetheless. My eyes opened to see Erin, my loving sister, who had not only saved me once but twice that day.

Tears spurted before I could even get a grasp on what could have happened if she hadn’t been there. If she hadn’t seen my butt sticking up in the air, with my arms flapping wildly like a flightless bird trying to get up into the sky, what would have happened? The thought deprived my brain of anything else but thankfulness to my sister.

Erin inspected my leg, which had proof of my entanglement where skins was ripped off and raw. She stood up cautiously and glared harshly at Jonathon who had been standing there dumbfounded the entire time. No one spoke.