My body feels hot. And heavy. And wet. I can feel light on my face, but my eyes feel as though they have been glued together. When I do manage to get one open I shut it immediately when I realize just how sunny it really is. For a moment panic sets in when I try to move my body and I can't. It all feels so heavy. Like I'm being held down. Everything hurts. My throat feels raw and my clothes are clinging to me and I'm in a puddle and I can't move. Finally I make my hand twitch. Eventually I am able to pry it puff the ground and lift it over my eyes. I force them open one by one. The sun was so bright and the waves were rocking slowly now. Pushing me in whatever direction they wanted. It was day now. I manage to pull myself up into a sitting position and from there I grab onto one of the seats and manage to pull myself up onto it. By now my eyes have adjusted though they still feel swollen and heavy. My stomach tightens as I realize there is absolutely nothing around me. I am surround by Blue Ocean all around. And not a single soul. I'm gasping for breath as the memories of the day before come through. I don't allow myself to fall apart again. I can't.

I force myself to stand. My body feels weak and beat up but I know I need to move around. I untie the rope from my wrist and after a moment's hesitation I unbuckle the enormous life jacket and lay it out on the bench to dry. My clothes were still soaked but they were hot from the sun. I manage to slip off my large hoodie easily and the moment o do I start to feel better. It was so heavy with all the hot water in it only made it harder on my body. I try to squeeze some water out of it but I feel as though I have no force in me so I just extend it on a bench and let it be. I had to peel my jeans off me. They were so tight it made it nearly impossible to do it with all my sore limbs. I take off my tank top as well and lay everything on the benches to dry. My body felt lighter and the heat was already beginning to dry my skin.

My mouth felt like cotton. I was so thirsty I knew I drank so much salt water yesterday. I was dehydrated. I quickly make my way to the front of the boat and sure enough under the seat was a latch. Inside were cans upon cans labeled water. I quickly manage to rip one open. Water had never tasted so good. When it's gone I know I shouldn't but I tear another one open and finish off half of it before setting it aside. The few drops of water that rolled down my chin I use to rub on my face that feels dry and salty. Beside the cans are a bunch of little aluminum packets. After examining one I tear it open. Inside was some sort of dried bread or cracker. I take a bite out of it. It's not very good. Sort of like Styrofoam. It was fluffy when you first bite into it and as you chew it turns into flavorless mush. I eat all of it in three bites then drink the last of my can of water before going back exploring what was in the box. There was a complete first aid kit. A clear bag which had some sort of plastic inside that must be for getting water or something , three red flare guns, a smoke signal, a knife, a whistle, a box filled with fishing supplies, a flashlight two boxes of matches wrapped in plastic and a little booklet and pencil. I'm about to ready the booklet when something thumps against the side of the boat. I immediately jump up and look over the side of the boat.

It was a red suitcase floating in the water. I reach down and pull it up. I survey the area and spot another two suit cases drifting just a few feet away. I use one of the paddles that was hooked to the inside of the boat to pull it over, this ones were bigger and heavier and it takes me a few tries to get them into the boat. After making sure I didn't spot anymore stuff or any people. O tear open the red suitcase. By heart sinks. Tears well up in my eyes as I stare down at a suitcase filled with clothes for a little girl. She might have not even made it. If she did make it then she's just floating around in a boat somewhere, waiting to see if someone will find her. The suitcase had lots of clothes and a little pink hairbrush and a little bag filled with colorful hair ties and ribbons. I grab the brush and a couple of hair ties and close her suitcase and put it off to the side.

My hair had turned into one huge knot. I work the brush through it slowly as I take in my surroundings. A lot of time goes by the time I am able to run the brush through my hair smoothly. Or at least I am assuming because the sun has changed positions and is coming down stronger than ever. I am about to throw my hair in a ponytail when I realize that's probably not the best idea of I don't want to have to spend hours untangling it again. So I divided it in two and braid it. When I'm done I tie it with the colorful hair ties and begin to open another suitcase. Sitting right on top was a pair of binoculars and swimming goggles. Wonderful. I set those aside. The rest was mostly men's clothes and shaving supplies. I zip it up and pull over the next one. To my luck it's filled with women's clothes. It's a couple sizes too big but I decide I should put some clothes on before I am burned to a crisp. I find two bottles of sunscreen and decide to put that on first. Then I slip on a pair of jean shorts that are too big to stay on my hips. I look through the whole thing hoping to find a belt but there isn't one. Then I realize I saw one in the men's case. After strapping it on at the last notch the shorts finally stay on my hips. I then put on the tank top I had set out to dry.

Now that I was cleaned up I figured I should try to set up the water thing. It didn't take very long after I read the instructions. It was just a plastic dome that was taking condensation from the air. It had a little tube to drink from. After I had it set up I surveyed the boat and tried to organize it all with the suitcases and water thing in the back and left room for me to sit in the front. In the process I found two hatchets and a compass at the front of the boat and two buckets. After drinking another can of water and eating another cracker thing I sat in the front of the boat with binoculars and looked around. I was hoping to find anything other than blue water. I looked for what felt like hours and soon the sun began to lower and an orange glow was beginning to set over the water. If I wasn't so terrified I would have thought it was beautiful. As I look over the water I spot something that's bouncing along with the waves. It's hard to tell what it is but its white, maybe another suitcase. I quickly grab the paddles and start to force the boat to change direction. It takes a moment to get the hang of it but once I do I row as fast as I can. As I get closer a chill sets over me as I realize what it is. It isn't a suitcase. It was a body. Suddenly bile rises up my throat and this time I don't try to hold it in. I throw up the little food I have eaten and once there is nothing else to throw up I let my hang head over the side of the boat.

I don't let myself cry or even think much about what has happened. I grab my paddles and continue paddling towards it. When I get close enough I see that it is a man's body. For a moment I'm not sure what to do. I use my paddle to pull the body towards the boat. Its face down and I try not to focus on the fact that this is a person. A dead person. I notice the back pocket is slightly bulging. That's when I realize what I should do. I lean over the boat as far as I can and with some effort I manage to grab the wallet from his pocket. I don't open it I just set it aside then with the help of my paddle I flip the body over. I avoid looking as the body slides down into the water peacefully.

"I'm sorry." I whisper in a scratchy voice." I hope now you are at peace." A tear escapes and I quickly force myself to focus again. I put the paddles back on their hooks and allow the water to push the boat again.

Before I know it the sun is getting low so I decide to lay down a bunch of clothes on the floor of the middle of the boat to make a bed. After putting my now dry sweatshirt on and slipping on two pairs of pajama pants that I tight tightly with the drawstrings o keep them from slipping. I curl up on my make shift bed but I don't fall asleep. The moon was shining on the water making it glitter and the sky was filled with stars. There was so much light. I'm not used to sleeping with light. I don't want to think about Alice, or about Jake. But as I stare up at the stars I see their faces, I can't stop myself from wondering about where they are, if they are in a situation a lot like mine or if they aren't in any situation at all. My heart clenches at the thought of what that would mean. I twist and turn all night, but I don't fall asleep until what must have been just before morning.

I awake to the sound of thumping repeatedly. It takes me a moment to figure out what that means. I jump up and look overboard, there's another two suitcases. I haul them up. One blue one grey. Both unbelievable soaked and heavy, these must not have been waterproof. I unzip them and leave them open to help it dry in the hot sun, the waves were really soft today. After I drink a can of water and eat a biscuit. I sort through the clothes I laid out last night taking all the clothes I could wear and folding it as tightly as I can. I manage to make it fit into the smallest suitcase and I set that case aside I then fold the rest loosely and manage to fit it the second smallest and then put the suitcase in the biggest one to save a little space. I them empty the wet suit cases and spread out the contents as best I can to let it dry. When I'm done I fill up the three empty cans of water with the water thing. The name was in the book but I keep forgetting it. Not like anyone was here to correct me. I take the filled cans with me to the front of the boat along with the binoculars and beginning my day of staring out into the water. I take breaks to apply coats of sunscreen, luckily the suitcases provide plenty of sunscreen. The next morning I go through the process of eating and drinking. I am only drinking the water I am making I no longer need to open cans. In fact it makes too much water. I end up using some to wash my face and teeth. Then I get the idea to fill up a suit case with water so that I can take a shower. I use the small pair of scissors I found in a tiny sewing kit to cut the fabric interior out of one of the plastic waterproof suitcases. Then after filling the cans I dump the rest in the suitcase. It only fills up about an inch but by tonight there will be more. The next day after filling my cans I have half a luggage's worth of water. Just as I'm zipping it closed I hear a slight noise that makes my head jerk up. It sounded almost like a whimper. Could it be a bird? That means I might be close to land. I rush to the front of the boat with my binoculars. I hear it again! It's more of a groan this time. As I am roaming my eyes over the sky I catch a glimpse of something. In the ocean. It's far away. But. It's an arm!

"HEY" I yell. At least I try to but my voice is so hoarse it is more like I said it then yelled it. I hear another groan and I quickly unhook the pedals and start pushing the boat in that direction. It's not too hard because there's hardly any movement in the ocean right now. I push as hard and fast as I can 'I'm coming!' I call out a little louder. As I get closer I see it's a man hanging onto a broken piece of wood that might have been from a boat. It was just big enough for him to hang his upper body on. I push myself the last few feet before rushing to the side of the boat to help pull him up , he could barely move but he managed to help me just enough to get him in.

"Oh my god" I breathe as inlay him in the middle of the boat. He's half lucid. I run over to where I keep the cans of water I fill up and pop the lid off and put it against his lips he doesn't move so I lift his head onto my lap and let a little water dribble into his mouth. He appears to swallow and so I dribble a little more. A little at a time he drinks about a third of a can. I lay his head down on my folded sweatshirt and he appears to fall asleep. Or pass out I'm not sure. After heaving the piece of wood he was on onto the boat I stand over him not knowing what to do. The lower half of his body was soaked and I decide maybe I should take off the clothes he was wearing. I hesitate for a moment not sure if he would appreciate it or declare me a pervert but I decide it's for his own good. So first I unbutton his light blue button-down and hang it to dry on the long wood hanging off the front of the ship. Ok. Now his tank top. It's a lot harder than I thought to get it off. His neck and arms are super sun burnt. I avoid looking at his chest… then I unbuckle his belt and slide his jeans off his hips. They are stuck to his skin. I have to practically pry them off. Once I get the off I decide to leave the boxers. That's about as much as I can do without feeling awful. The skin on his legs and feet and even his lower stomach is unbelievably wrinkled. I'm not sure what to do about it but I think maybe just letting the sun hit him will be good. I dry him off gently with a little hand towel I found in one of the cases then I apply sunscreen to his face and arms. It feels very intimate doing so. I am blushing as I rub it over his smooth muscular chest. As I am applying a second coat to his face and neck where he is the most sunburnt I realize underneath the red sunburn I recognize those features. It's him. The man with the book. I can't believe it's him.

I decide its best to let him rest so I drink a can of water and eat a biscuit all the while wishing he would wake up. The sun dries his lower body and it begins to look better. I decide to put a shirt on him so I take out a fresh Hawaiian themed shirt that is a couple sizes too big. His skin is starting to smooth after a while and I decide I should put sunscreen before he starts to burn already his used to be pale white almost blue legs are getting color. I am rubbing sunscreen on his thighs when he begins to stir. His arm flies up to cover his eyes before slowly sitting up. His eyes open and for a moment I'm stunned by their color again. He gazes at me.

"Water" he croaks. His voice was worse than mine. I rush to bring him his can and a biscuit. He drinks what's left of the water but ignores the biscuit and tried to stand up.

"Are you alright?" I ask when he can't.

"My legs are weak. Could you help me onto this bench?'

"Of course" I say rushing over to help lift him. Good thing he wasn't too heavy. "Is that better how are you feeling? Are you hurt?"

"No I'm okay. Just tired and dehydrated and hungry." He says softly.

"Let me get you more water. I say and grab the last can of water I had open. I place it next to him

"I don't think you are supposed to drink too much at once so I'll leave it here for when you are ready. Do you want to try eating?" I say

"What was in the silver package?"

"It's like a biscuit thing. It tastes a bit like saltine crackers, like soda crackers really but it doesn't have any flavor. It's kept me full. I have only been eating two a day I'm trying to ration them since I don't burn many calories sitting on a boat." I say with a small smile. I reach over and grab the biscuit and open the package for him. "Here" I say handing it to him. "Try a small piece."

"Thanks." He says grabbing it and taking a bite. Crumbs roll down his face. It's at that point, as he is chewing that he looks down. "Did you undress me? And do I smell sunscreen?"

"Oh yeah. I did. I thought I should take you out of those wet clothes, I wasn't sure how long you would be asleep. Your skin looked really bad. The sun helped lots. Then I put sunscreen on you to prevent getting burnt. I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable I was just trying to help." I say quickly trying to stop the blush from spreading but by the time I'm done talking my whole body feels hot.

"Thank you." He says after a short pause, he was watching me closely. He looks down and takes another bite of the biscuit. I decide to get up then. I look around for something to do. Pants! I should get him pants! I go over to the suitcase and dig through the one filled with men's clothes. I pull out a pair of men's khaki shorts and a belt and bring it over to him. He was watching me surprised.

"I can't believe you have all this. How did this happen? Why do you have the boat to yourself? Wasn't there other people?" he asks taking the clothes from me and setting it beside him.

"Well yes the boat was full, but um when we were lowered down the waves get too strong and it flipped the boat over and everyone fell out. I was treading water for a while and by luck found the boat upside down and climbed on top. Eventually another wave flipped it back over and by then I found a rope and tied myself to the boat. I was already so far from the ship I couldn't find anyone in the water. The boat was already half sunk by then. Since then I have been on my own, suitcases keep drifting by and I pick them up. They have been a lot of help." I explain.

"You weren't hurt when the boat flipped?" he asks.

"No I'm okay, a few bruises here and there. I guess I got lucky." I say looking down.

"You were that girl I ran into on the ship?" he asks.

"Yes" I say then after a moment. "My name is Bella... Isabella… but Bella."

"Edward." He replies. We don't say much after that. He finishes his biscuits and drinks a little more water before changing into the shorts. By then the sun is getting low so I explain to him how I lay out clothes on the middle of the boat as a bed and he helps. This time I make it as big as I can so we can both fit. It will be a tight fit but that's what we have to deal with. When we finish the sun is casting a red glow over everything. He tucks all the suitcases under the seats before laying down beside me on the bed. It's not long enough to fully out stretch our legs but we curl up on our sides back to back. I'm trying to give him as much room as possible.

"Sorry." I whisper when I accidentally brush his back.

"Look we are going to end up touching throughout the night so let's just get it over with." He says before allowing his back to press evenly against mine.

"Okay." I say before relaxing. Our backs are gently touching and I'm trying not to think about it. We pull some clothes over us to help keep warm from the ocean breeze. The sky turns blue and the sky fills with stars and I'm still thinking about him.

In the morning we wake up to the sun. I wake up a little earlier then him but I don't move until I feel him move. We both sit up at the same time.

"Morning." He says rubbing his eyes. I just grin at him. "What?" he asks when he notices me smiling?

"Nothing it just feels nice not to wake up alone." I blush and look down. "How are you feeling?" I ask standing up and stretching.

"Weak and stiff but definitely better. "He says as he stands up slowly.
I go over to fill the cans of water. The thing was overflowing because I didn't empty it the night before.

"Are those the only cans of water we have?" He asks as I hand him one.

"no there's more but once I got this thing working I realized there was no need to open more so I figured best to keep them saved in case of an emergency. Plus the water from the cans doesn't taste as good."

"I sure would have appreciated canned water when I was drifting"

"I'm sorry it must have been awful" I say handing him breakfast. I go over to the side of the boat to brush my teeth. "There's other toothbrushes in that pocket." I use very little toothpaste to make it last. Using someone else's brush seemed nasty until I realized it could take months for someone to find us, I can't go months without brushing my teeth. He brushes his teeth without comment then without another word we meet in the middle of the boat and eat together. I give him two biscuits and two cans of water. He hesitates before eating both. But I know he is starving. When we both finish we start folding up the clothes.

"It's hard to keep warm at night when the wind blows everything off. "He says as he folds and I pack.

"I know I think today I will sew some clothes together to make it one big blanket."

"Wow you have everything. You found all that from suitcases?"

"Yes thank god for the people that are over prepared." I smile at him. We pack it all up. And he decides to count all the food and cans of water we have. I start going through the clothes trying to decide what's best to sew together I don't want to use clothes that we could use but I'm trying to pick the warmest unfortunately everyone was packed for beach fun I find some men's clothes that's too small for him but it's not enough.

"Hey, there's a suitcase."

I look up and sure enough there is a green case floating right next to the boat. It looks waterproof too. We pull it up and open it. It is waterproof. And it's perfect for sewing. The clothes inside is for a very thin teenager, a very sophisticated teen. It's filled with soft cardigans and pale pastel button ups. This girl must have gotten easily cold, as I pull out tons of cardigans and sweaters. There's also a big sewing kit. Not big but definitely not a mini one like the other two I found. The strange thing was everything was packed into packing cubes, and all the mini bottles were packed neatly in a spill proof pouch.

"She sure was organized wasn't she?" He says as he watches me pull things out of the cubes.

"Yeah I don't remember ever being this well-organized. " I smile at him laughing softly as I set clothes into piles.

After he sets off to organize the food and I begin to sew the little button up shirts together. I don't want to ruin the clothes just in case they end up coming in handy at some point. I am sewing them together as closely as I can and sewing the short sleeves down so they don't bother us.

"Were you on the cruise alone? "He asks suddenly.

"No. Actually I was with my best friend, Alice." I reply. Then after a pause." And my boyfriend Jacob."

"Oh"

"How about you? I don't remember ever seeing you with anyone." I say. He glances up at me with an eyebrow raised. I then realize what I have admitted and blush. I'm an idiot he will think I'm a stalker AND a pervert.

"Actually my mother and father own the ship. They made me take the cruise. I really didn't want to go." He says ignoring my comment.

"They own the ship? That's so cool. Why wouldn't you want to go on a free cruise? That's silly."

"Well I'm in medical school, I didn't want to waste any time, but they insisted this year I take advantage of vacation while I have the chance. Though cruise ships really aren't my idea of relaxation, I took it to put my mom at ease."

"Well I suppose I really am lucky." I say

"What do you mean?" He asks watching me again.

"If I had to choose someone to be stranded on a boat in the middle of the ocean a medical student is definitely a good choice." I reply not taking my eyes off the shirts, but I hear his chuckle.

"I suppose you are lucky." I blush like an idiot.

"Well turns out we have plenty of food." He says after a moment. "Enough for both of us to eat three times a day for the next three months. Surely by then we will find a way to fish or something."

"Hopefully by then we will be found." I correct him.

"Well..." he says then stops.

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Don't do that I can't stand that. What is it? Do you not believe we will be found or something?" I say putting down the shirts to look at him. He has a pained look on his face.

"It's just that things are a bit more complicated then you know. "

"What does that mean?" I ask confused.

"Well the captain is a friend of my families. When the ship was first hit I went off to find him to find out what happened. He told me that about a two days after we left Miami our radios went off. Which wasn't a big deal but the captain did decide to veer off course a bit to an island close by. But that was only supposed to set the trip off by about half a day or so which he was planning to make up on the way back. Only we didn't arrive when we were supposed to. It was then they realized that the ships navigation was set incorrectly. The ship had been going in a wrong direction ever since the radio went off. The next day we hit a rock that was under water and that they didn't see because the system was all messed up. Whomever is looking for us wouldn't have known until the next day when the ship didn't arrive. Then when they do begin to look they could be looking in the wrong place." He finishes looking away from my face now.

This was all too much. This sort of stuff didn't happen anymore, it just doesn't make any sense.

"So we might never be found?"

It's possible." He says and I let out the breathe I hadn't realized I had been holding. I look down and pick up the clothes. I continue sewing as I blink back tears I am pricking my fingers too much because I can't see properly but I do my best to hold it all in. The rest of the day is mostly a blur I go through the motions I realize I might end up doing for the next few months. I can't live like this for the next few months it hasn't been a week and I already feel like a robot. I am laying down with my back pressed against a completely stranger. This could be my life from now on. My life will be confined to a boat surrounded by water. I can't get this out of my mind. I don't even know how long it takes me to finally fall asleep but even in my dreams I feel trapped.

Thanks for reading and commenting I really enjoy reading the comments and i appreciate any feedback and suggestions! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and i will have the next chapter up in the next few days.

~With Love Marilyn