Do you ever have a gut feeling? We all do; it's your body's way of telling you something about a situation is right or wrong. Well, I decided not to listen to mine because I was looking for a thrill, which I soon regretted.

It was a beautiful day for tubing on the InterCoastal Waterway of Conway, South Carolina. The sky was bright blue, the water was clear, the grass was green, and the energy of people was just awesome. “Who's excited to go tubing?!?!,” my dad asked us.

“Me!!!,” my siblings and I yelled.

“I call going first!” I yelled.

 “Nice try, Marina, but you can’t go alone. You're only eight. Giovanni, can you go with your sister?” my dad asked.

“Why do I have to?” Giovanni asked.

“Yeah! I can go alone!” I replied.

“Sorry, but you don't know what's in that river,” my dad responded. 

“What do you mean?” I asked.  I felt a nerve rush through my body. I didn't think much of it though. It was probably just excitement…. right?

“Who's first?” my dad asked as he was pumping air into the tube.

“Me!” my sister insisted.

“We will go after her,” my brother told me.

As I saw my sister tenderly make her way onto the float, I noticed that it started to go deeper into the water than I anticipated. I saw her lay down and grip her hands onto the rope. “Ready?!?!” my dad asked.

“Yes!!” my sister yelled. I heard the engine start. It sounded similar to a motorcycle engine submerged in the water.  It made a gurgling sound. The float started to pull away from the boat. “Woohoo, this is awesome!” my sister yelled.

My dad started to speed up the engine. I saw my sister cheering from a distance. I laid my arms on the side of the boat and started to stare. I saw the flat blue water turn into white-topped waves as the boat went faster and faster. The cheering echo started to fade as I zoned out more and more. But something caught my attention. I saw something that looked like the head of an alligator. To me, it looked as big as a whale.

“Dad!!,” I yelled.

          “What? There's nothing there?”  he said.

“I swear I saw something,” I replied.

“You're just seeing things. There's nothing there!” he said.

“But what you said earlier! Remember? About what's in the water,” I said anxiously.

“I was just playing with you,” he said.

“Oh,” I replied, still trying to process what I just saw.

 The engine began to slow down. My sister made her way back onto the boat. I saw my mom's arms wrap around my sister, engulfing her with a warm towel. “That was so fun!”  my sister said.

“I'm so glad, Bianca!  Marina, Giovanni. You’re next.”, my mom announced.

 “I don't know about this,” I told her.

 “What? You just saw how much fun your sister had,” my mom responded.   “Yeah, don't be a wimp,” my brother said as he punched my shoulder.

“Okay,” I replied, but my gut was telling me that something wasn’t okay.

That uneasy gut feeling returned. But my siblings compelled me into doing this, so I couldn't quit now.  I anxiously stepped onto the tube. I noticed it deflating more and more as I laid down on it. Tightly, I grabbed onto the rope; the anxious feeling inside me flashed.

“Are you ready? ”I heard my dad ask.

“Yes!!” my brother screamed.

“Me too!!” I said excitedly. I guess I wasn't that scared after all. I was just overthinking what my dad had said to me.

As we started to hit the waves we went faster and faster, and the jumps got higher and higher. It was so fun until I heard a noise. The noise sounded like a deflating balloon. “Giovanni? What was that?” He didn't respond, or at least I didn't hear the response because of the water in my ear and the sound of the loud motor. I tried to validate what I was going to say. Before I could say anything, I felt the water above my head. Riding the raft, we noticed it deflating more and more. As the seconds passed, we sank more and more into the water.  Oh my God, the raft is sinking! I thought.  I was panicking. I’m going to drown and get eaten by an alligator. This is not the vacation I was planning.

I started to panic, and my heart beat faster and faster. I tried to claw my way up to the surface, but nothing seemed to work. I thought I was about to die. I used all the strength I could to swim, but I got too tired to do much. I wasn't sure where my brother was, nor where the boat was. All I could see was black. Fear was rushing through my body, realizing the alligator could be right next to me. The time started to elapse. I thought I was about to die.

I felt something grip my arm. I was praying that it wasn't the mouth of an alligator. As I kept getting pulled up to the surface, I saw my brother. As I gasped to get air, I felt myself getting pushed up onto a platform. I could barely hear anything with all the water clogged in my ears like earbuds. I started to cough up water. I felt a warm towel around me. I could finally see and hear my family members' faces and voices. Relief flashed through my body.

 “Are you okay? I'm so sorry! This shouldn't have happened!!” my dad said. “I’m fine, don't worry about me!!” I told him. I felt so relieved, but at the same time, I couldn't process what had just happened. I just laid there until I fell asleep on the boat. I was so tired it felt like I had just run a million miles. I could barely move.

You should always trust your gut no matter what circumstance you're in. Your gut will always lead you to the right path in life, so make sure you trust it.

 

 

 

 

-Marina S.