It was a lazy morning in July. My family and my best friend Soha’s family had gone for a bucket and spade day at Saltwater Beach. The water was as sparkly and clear as a diamond. The ocean was cool and calm. It was quite early, so we had the beach to ourselves. It was perfect.

Our parents were having a mums-versus-dads volleyball match. My sister and Soha’s elder sister had gone to the wavy part of the ocean to surf, and Soha and I were building sandcastles. Soon there were more people on the beach and the weather was warmer too, so Soha and I went into the water for a splash.

Soha saw people jump into a speedboat and she decided she wanted to go too. She asked her mum, but her mum said that we will all go after the parents were done taking their naps on beach chairs.

Soha groaned and went back in the water envying the teenagers who were taking selfies in the speedboat. I decided it was best to stay out of her way for a while so I started walking by the beach to find seashells, but I was still cautious of what Soha was doing.

I turned around to pick up a pink sea shell. Soha must have been watching me because as soon as I turned around, Soha jumped into a speed boat and, surprisingly without questions, the driver turn on the engine. I heard a growl and when I turned around, to my horror, I saw Soha waving to me happily as she sped away in the boat.

My sister and Soha’s older sister couldn’t have known because they were at the snack bar. I started yelling at her to get back to the shore. After yelling till I was hoarse, I decided to ignore her until I heard a strange sound, or rather a sound dying down. I turned around to see the boat had stopped and the engine was on fire!

I raced down the beach thinking of what to do. I could have woken up my parents, but that would get us both in trouble. I couldn’t even call a lifeguard since they were off duty. Soha had to jump out quickly, but she didn’t know how to swim. I had to think fast!

I jumped into the water and swam as fast as I could. Luckily, the boat had not gotten very far so I could reach it without getting too exhausted. I told Soha to hold onto my back so I could swim us back. When we got to the beach, everyone was starring in shock and awe — everyone except our families who were oblivious to our plight.

“What was so important that you had to jump into a boat and go off without us?” I yelled at her and started a long earful, not even noticing the tear in her eyes.

“I am sorry! I will never do such a dumb thing again!” she muttered, wiping her eyes.

I put my arms around her and gave her a hug. Our parents woke up and we ended the day with ice cream. The day had ended perfectly after all.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 4th, 2020