I inhaled the salty fresh ocean breeze that blew my hair left and right. The sun was glowing and radiating on everything at the beach. I wasn’t the only one admiring nature’s beauty. There were hundreds of people with umbrellas and sun hats; it was the perfect summer day. I focused on the calmness of the waves and how they're the perfect shade of navy and baby blue. The frothiness of the ocean was so white and bubbly. Something about it looked so inviting. I could imagine myself standing in the bright blue water and disappearing to play with the fish. It was a childish dream, but now for some reason the desire felt real. I slowly stood up and began to walk towards the friendly ocean.

“Hey Maricel, where are you going?” My little brother Cooper asked. 

“For a swim, do you want to come?”

Cooper nodded his head violently and grabbed his bright plastic orange pail and green shovel, running towards the shore. 

“Wait Maricel, you’re going too fast!” He shouted.

I couldn’t stop walking, there was a magnet between me and the ocean. An attraction that I couldn’t ignore.  There was something calling me to be there at this very moment. I could see the entire horizon in front of my eyes. 

Then I heard a strange sound, like a thundercloud was right above us. Yet, the sky was completely clear without a cloud in sight. I could feel a rumbling beneath my feet. The sand began to shake on the ocean floor. What is happening? Many people were observing and talking in confusion. Then I heard one word that made my heart beat out of my chest. 

“TSUNAMI!”

My legs were stuck to the floor and I was staring right into the deep ocean. My ears were filled with terrified screams. I couldn’t think straight, my brain was jumbled with all kinds of questions. What animals could be in there? Is it possible to even out run a tsunami? What even is a tsunami?  I’ve heard of them in movies, but it’s unheard of in Malibu, Florida. 

“Maricel, come here this instant!” My dad shouted. 

Turning around, I squinted and saw a small figure that looked like my father’s. I didn’t realize how far I was from land. There was absolute chaos all over the beach. The lifeguards tried to save people in the water, but it was too late. I was petrified, and wanted to run to the boardwalk as soon as I could. However, I was stuck and couldn’t move. It was like my feet were glued to the floor. 

No matter how badly I wanted to run, my body wouldn’t respond. No, no, no, what is wrong with me? There was nothing that could make me move. I could hear my family’s voices screaming for me. Is this how I was going to die? Is this how my family was going to remember me? I could see the water begin to secede and rise higher and higher.  My heart was pounding and my hands were trembling with fear.

“C’mon kid lets go!” A random man yelled and launched me onto his back.

I could see the rising water behind us - it was over twenty feet high and I was wondering when it would all burst out. The man carrying me was heavily fatigued and was slowing down pace by the second. After a couple feet, he dropped me onto the sandy floor and he fell to his knees. 

“I’m sorry kid, I’m not making it. Please run and find your family.” 

I had no time to bargain. As badly as I wanted to save him, I just couldn’t. I began to run as fast as I could to the boardwalk, hoping to find my family and safe ground. I stared at the ground beneath me while running, hoping it would make me feel faster. I looked up and saw the warm expression of my father. His soft features like his nose and eyes never failed to soothe me. He always gave me a soft smile no matter what. My mother standing next to him, had luscious brown hair and undeniable beauty. She’s generous and blameless. I always wanted to resemble her beauty, inside and out. My little brother Cooper was my sunshine in the darkness, always showing me how fun life could be. His smile could light up an entire room. Tears rolled down my face when I saw them. A sense of security in such an uncertain situation. I expected smiles and hugs from them, but I saw their eyes widen as they looked at something behind me. I turned around, wondering what they were staring at… I never should have looked.

WHOOSH. It was like a dream, something you never thought would happen to you. Those dreams that you wake up from in a hot sweat and heavy breathing. That dream where you can’t go back to bed because of how anxious you are. A dream that you would never recover from because you’d be haunted by it for life. That dream became my reality. I could swim, but I couldn’t out swim a tsunami. A tsunami that would wreck an entire city and would take months to recover from. That same tsunami killed hundreds of innocent people at the beach, including me and my family, enjoying a perfect August day.