The Summer I Drowned (SEA GLASS)

THE MOMENT MY FOOT slips from the cliff's edge, I know that I'm going to die. Jagged rocks pierce my skin. My shriek penetrates the sound of crashing waves in the air. The surface of the water slams into my body like concrete and reverberates through my muscles, and I plunge below until everything is silent. It's a deep, indigo blue, like the depths of space, but a silver light ripples above and shines like glass. My hand extends up, reaching, reaching, reaching... Clusters of bubbles fizz and swallow my whole body. It's so quiet. Peaceful, almost. My heart restarts. I kick and flail, but the light shrivels away. Water seeps into my mouth and tastes like seaweed and raw fish. The weight is tremendous, like I'm trapped under layers of sand, like I can't even swim. The current drags me deeper. Fingers grip my ankles. It's over. I'm going to die. Bubbles flow to the moonlight and become faint, weak. Everything goes black. I wake up in the backseat of my parents' minivan.