The Doomed Beginning

The Doomed Beginning

I was daydreaming of water as clear as crystal and sun sizzling with heat. The slow, warm breeze whispered laughter all around me as I lay on a beautiful beach in the Eastern Caribbean. I could smell the salty seawater waves crashing onto the shore, and I sifted the soft, white, grainy sand through my fingers. I abruptly awoke to my name being called, but I did not want to come back to reality because I knew my perfect dream would disappear. Suddenly, as the warm, bright sun shone into my open eyes, I realized that it was not a dream. I looked around and saw seagulls flying in the distance, crying and diving into the water at their prey, and the dark, blasé native islanders walking around asking the sun-kissed beach goers if they wanted their hair braided. I could not believe it. I really was relaxing on the beach with my best friends; our cruise ship off in the distance docked at the port. I began to remember earlier in the week and how hectic and upsetting it was, and it all started with a snowstorm.
It was finally the day before my senior spring break. I could not wait for my mom and me to leave and fly to Miami, where we would then begin our seven day cruise around the Eastern Caribbean with the rest of my senior class. I had already packed enough clothes to last a month, and I could barely contain my excitement. We finally left the house and had a three-hour drive ahead of us to Grand Rapids, where the airport was. We were having a perfect drive while chatting about all the things we were going to do once we were on our cruise when the heavens unexpectedly emptied a frigid shower of snow into the sky. The immediate change of temperature made the roads icy, and cars everywhere were spinning out of control. I heard it before I felt it- the sound of screeching tires pierced my ears and a split second later a car came crashing into us and our bodies moved like dummies in a crash test. The scent of burnt rubber was repulsive and the shock of the...

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