The Last Swim

by Miles A Head

As Hans treaded water, he thought how ironic it was that this would be his fate. 

“I’ve always avoided swimming in the ocean because I am scared of its power” he thought.

He knew that he didn’t have the strength to attempt to swim for land. Not only was he not a strong swimmer but he had already been treading for a while. It was feasible that Andy would get concerned and send someone out to find him, but Hans wasn’t counting on it. He felt pretty sure that he would drown long before anyone could find him, he wasn’t even worried about sharks getting him before he drowned. 

Luckily, the ocean was calm at the moment. He spent some time trying to float on his back to conserve energy. He tried to think of how long it had been since he had left the beach house. It wasn’t much use, once he had realized the desperation of his situation, his sense of time had become distorted. 

As he started feeling the panic rising as his last bit of energy was being used to keep his head above water, he heard a new sound. The welcome sound of a motor. His instinct was to yell, but with the sound of water and the boat, there was no way they could hear him. 

As he listened, he thought it sounded like the boat was coming nearer. What were the chances that anyone could see a head bobbing just above the water unless they were specifically looking for him? It was dusk so Hans had heard the boat before he could see it. 

The boat turned on its lights and Hans realized that it had past him and was now heading away from him.