A Timely Save

A Timely Save

I could see the stars bright and distinct, except for where they melted into the Milky Way. The sky was clear and a full moon was riding in the sky. It was after a day of camping at Mac Ritchie Reservoir and it was a bit past midnight. I was preparing to retire, feeling worn out after the intense camp activities. Sleepily, I dragged my feet back to my tent.

Minutes later, I was in a deep sleep. At some time in the night, rain began to pelt relentlessly. It was soothing to hear the splattering of the raindrops falling on my tent and the distant rumble of thunder. However, a loud wailing roused me from my slumber.

Feeling disturbed, I decide to see who was creating that irritating the noise. Clutching my umbrella in one hand, I stepped out of my tent. As the night was dark and there was no one around, I began to feel an immense sense of isolation and doom. A cold chill trickled down my spine. Upon following the wailing, I found myself standing at the bank of the river, Squinting hard into the night, I made out the silhouette of a human being struggling in the river. Walking towards that direction, I saw a little boy in the river, gripped mercilessly by the ferocious current. He was screaming hysterically.

Without any thought, I plunged into the deep waters. Braving the rain and the current, I started swimming towards the boy. It took me a long time to swim towards him and at times, I had thought of giving up. However, his helpless cries seemed to give me strength to go on. When I finally grabbed him, I started fighting my way back to the bank, gulping down mouthfuls of water at the same time. I was feeling the toll. Luckily the boy was still conscious.

Being able to save a life was the best thing I had accomplished, but I will never be able to forget the menacing currents. They had seemed like terrifying monsters of the water…