A Proud Moment
by Katie Williams
I remember the day my sister nearly drowned. It was the very beginning of summer, a day with no clouds in the sky, just warm sun shining down. My parents made a packed lunch, me and my little sister, Sam, had put our swimming costumes on under our shorts and t-shirts. It wasn't far to the beach so we walked, carrying all our towels, food, sun-cream and other odds and ends in our bags. We arrived to find it quite empty, it not being the proper tourist season yet, and picked our favourite spot.
After eating lunch we made a sandcastle but the sand was too soft so it kept collapsing. Finally dad agreed to take us to the sea. Sam and I ran down to the sea. The beach was shaped strangely and the sea gets deeper and then shallow as it hits a bank, making a pond shaped area. We played in this bit, splashing each other and swimming about.
After a while I started to shiver, the coldness of the water getting to me. The sea was heading towards the shore, making it deeper.
“Sam, I'm going out now, come on,” I said
“But, Lucy! I want to stay in.”
“No, come on, dad is going out as well.” I was in the middle of the pond, the water up to my chest. Sam was standing on the bank, the water up to her knees. She turned around and walked towards the main part of the sea. And disappeared.
“Sam!” I couldn't see her anywhere! I ran towards where she disappeared. Dad was shouting but I couldn't hear what he was saying. I reached the bank and took another step, only to have my feet sink at the sudden drop. I dived down and luckily she hadn't gone too far away. I grabbed her and, using my legs, swam to the surface. Dad was beside me and took Sam from me. She cried and cried but I was just relieved she was still breathing!
Mum was waiting for us at the edge of the water, tears running down her face, a towel in her hands. As soon as we reached her, she wrapped the towel around Sam and clung on to her. Dad had his arm around me and we both wrapped towels around us.
The magic of the beach had gone so we headed home, the sun drying us off. Mum was ahead, carrying Sam whilst me and dad walked behind. He still had his arm around me and I could feel him shaking.
He whispered something but I still hear it. “I've never been more proud of you.”
I looked up at him and smile. We walked home hand in hand.
No matter how much my little sister annoys me, I'd do anything to help her.
I'm currently a second year student at Bath Spa University studying Creative Writing. I lived in St. Ives, Cornwall, until I was 18, when I moved to university. I have been writing short stories since my early teenage years. Contact Katie.
