I see the searchlight sweeping over the water. I’m too tired to yell for help anymore, so I just focus on keeping my head above the stormy waves. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, the light focuses on my limp form. I squint in the glare as I hear voices of alarm and surprise when they see me in the water. I can hear my name faintly being called from the sailors on the boat. The voices keep getting louder until I feel something grab me up out of the water and place me on something solid and hard. Their faces are blurry, but I can clearly hear their voices telling me to stay awake. Something smacks me across my face, but I’m too far gone to register the pain that should have accompanied it. I could feel myself starting to drift away now that I knew I had been rescued. I don’t have to fight the fatigue and exhaustion anymore so I just close my eyes and succumb to unconsciousness.

I feel myself being rocked back and forth and think to myself, Oh no, it was all a dream. I’m still stranded in the middle of the ocean. God, please help me! Then I come to the realization that, though I have the sensation of rocking back and forth, I’m actually lying on something soft and firm. Solid. I sit up with a start and instantly regret it: The throbbing in my head is pure agony and I cry out in pain. I hear thudding over my head and then coming from the door which is in the far corner of the room. I hear a lock turned and the door bursts open. A boy about my age with frizzy red hair stands in the doorway, his face lit up with excitement. “Mr. Redman! She’s awake, sir!” He cries with excitement. “She’s awake!” He says again in astonishment. He’s staring at me as though I’m a foreign creature he’s never seen before. I gently rub my temples, too tired to think about where I am or who the boy is. All I want is some aspirin and water. The boy, however, has no intention of moving and stands like a statue until a man appears next to him in the doorway. The man has dark features. His hair and the scrubble on his chin are dark brown and his skin is a deep olive. He speaks softly to the boy and he leaves the room, pouting. The man walks slowly into the room and pulls up a chair. He takes a seat and exhales loudly. “So, Annilee. You’ve caused quite the commotion.” He speaks with an Australian accent and for a brief second, I’m lost in his voice. But then I realize what he said. “Is everything alright?” I ask; my voice hoarse. He smiles briefly. “Everything is quite alright, except for the fact that you have been missing for quite some time. Care to tell me what has happened to you?” My head is still pounding incessantly and my throat feels as if it’s been scoured with sandpaper. “Before I say anything, can I get some aspirin and water, please?” The man smiles wryly and pulls out a medicine bottle from his pocket and reveals a bottle of water in his other hand. “I had a feeling you might need these when you woke up. Now,” he said after I had swallowed the pills and downed half the bottle, “why don’t you start at the beginning?” I sigh because so many things have happened since three weeks ago. It seems like years ago when I was safe at home, with my family and friends. I take a deep breath and begin the story of how I ended up drifting in the ocean. I started at the beginning…