I was in the middle of closing and locking all the shutters for the night. Dark clouds were rolling in; you could feel there was a storm on its way. Even the air smelt different.
After making sure everything was secure downstairs, I went upstairs to make sure all the windows were closed. First I checked Uncle's, then the little one in the bathroom, and finally my room. The window was wide open letting in the cool, crisp night breeze. As I walked over to slam it shut, something caught my eye out in the water. This little- but not too little- orange cone bobbing up and down with the waves.
My heart sank. The buoy! Uncle must have forgot to bring it in the last time he went out fishing! He always brought one with him to let float in the water so to remind him where he started that day. There was nothing weighing it down and it would float out even further thanks to this storm if I didn't do anything. Uncle just bought a new fishing net; I didn't want him to have to buy a new buoy too.
Quickly I changed out of my nightgown into the plainest yellow dress- which wasn't really that plain- I had. Then I unlocked the back door and ran through the garden, out the back gate, and onto the dock. The wind was growing steadily stronger, it was hard to move up against.
Reaching Uncle's little rowboat- the one with the chipped white paint- I struggled to untie it from the dock. My uncle ties really good knots. The reality of me rowing out onto open water with not a life vest in sight didn't really dawn on me until I was physically in the boat. I sat down in the middle of the bench and grabbed the two paddles. Only then did it hit me like a crashing wave what I was about to do. Of course I immediately hesitated.
What am I doing?! Me, rowing into the sea unoccupied? I've never been on a boat before! Well, that's not exactly true. I had ridden in a gondola in Venice before, but that was down a smooth canal! These were rough open waters! My eyes gazed back in the direction of the town. "Maybe I should go get Ricardo or Giovanni? They'll know what to do," I began to think aloud, if only to break the eerie silence around me. Silence that is, except for storm and sea sounds. But then I gave my head a quick, cleansing shake. "There's no time! Zio's buoy will be lost by then!" Nervously peering back out at the rough horizon, I inhaled very, very deeply. "Ok, Ilaria. You can do this. Just row out and then back in. You can do this!" I said this but I wasn't feeling confident at all. Still, I put the ores in the water and started to paddle.
Rowing a boat is a lot tougher that I imagined. Just getting it to move was a struggle, and I could barely control the direction I was moving in. My dress was already soaked from getting splashed and I was becoming more and more desperate to reach that stupid buoy. It took a really long time but I finally got there. Or well, sort of. To my horror, I found the boat four feet away or so from the target. No matter what I did, I couldn't get closer. In fact, the more I tried to row nearer, the further I seemed to drift away. Realizing that this was as close as I was going to get, I tried a new tactic.
I wobbled over to the side of the boat, leaning on its edge and stretching my upper body over the water. My hand not holding onto the wood made a reach for the buoy. I could hardly caress it with the tips of my fingers but I wasn't going to give up just yet. I sat down on the edge, effectively ruining the skirt of my dress, and stretched out as far as I could in front of me. The only part of me actually left in the boat were my legs, and they weren't strong enough to keep me inside.
I didn't have time to scream or make a peep as I was plunged below the surface. My torso was the first to hit the water, followed by my arms and legs flaying above me. My loose hair went everywhere, floating every which way around me. The sea was cooler than I had thought it would be, but falling in like that was such a shock to my system that I didn't move. Well, consciously. I just started to sink and that's when my chest started constricting. I don't know why but drowning was a lot painfuller than I also imagined. My eyes winced shut; salt water got in everywhere. I didn't know if there was water in my eyes or I was already crying. The one and only thought I had was that Uncle and Papa would never know what happened to me. Unless my body washed up on shore, it'd be like I disappeared without a trace. Maybe they'd take the missing rowboat as a sign. First I saw my uncle's face in my mind's eye, and then Papa's. My eyes slowly drifted back open to see I was a way from the surface now. I'm going to die…. I'm going to die like this. I'll die never having a chance to say goodbye or tell them how much I loved them. Uncle….. Papa….
My vision was getting progressively blurry, my fingers and toes were going numb. My lungs felt like they were on fire. Let me tell you, drowning is not a fun way to go. Consciousness was slowly slipping from my grasp. The last thing I remember while being in the water was seeing that purple fish swimming right above me. I don't know where it came from or why it was suddenly so near me; my cognitive thought process had stopped working by that point. All I remember is the long scaly purple fish with the tail. And green eyes- big, glowing green eyes. That's when everything finally went black.