This is one of the composition topics assigned to students in our self-paced Writing Academy online course. Other topics related to this are ‘A Close Shave’ and ‘A Frightening Incident’.
A Nerve-Wracking Experience
Lily’s eyes lit up with joy as she placed the last seashell on her sandcastle. “Dad, look at my sandcastle!” she exclaimed and punched the air in jubilation. Her father was sitting under the shadow of a palm tree nearby. He looked up from his book and gave her a thumbs-up before burying his nose back in his book again.
Deeply engrossed in admiring her great sand work, Lily failed to notice that the waves were growing stronger and stronger. The seawater was rushing up the shore, inching nearer to Lily’s favourite bucket. With a powerful gush of the wave, her bucket was pulled into the water and soon floated further into the sea.
When Lily finally caught sight of her bucket, she let out a gasp of shock. Without saying a word, she sprinted towards the bucket, wading deeper and deeper into the water. All of a sudden, a playful wave pushed Lily and she lost her balance. Splash! Lily fell headfirst into the water. A chill ran down her spine and she was in a state of panic. “I don’t know how to swim! Daddy! Help!” she shrieked helplessly, choking on the salty sea water. She was bobbing up and down in the water, trying hard to stay afloat. However, to her dismay, she was drifting further and further away from the shore.
Feeling frantic, Lily flapped her arms like a duck as hard as she could and yelled at the top of her lungs, “Help! Help!” The wind carried her cries for help towards the shore. Hearing Lily’s frantic cries, her father looked up from his book. His eyes widened in shock when he saw Lily adrift at sea. Fear gripped his heart. Terror-stricken, he darted across the beach and immediately sought help from a lifeguard on duty.
The lifeguard, together with a few onlookers, sprang into action. They dived into the sea and swam as fast as they could towards Lily. In the nick of time, the lifeguard pulled Lily up as her head disappeared into the water. With his skilful arms, he held Lily and swam back towards the shore within seconds. Lily’s father hugged her and reassured her that she was safe. He also checked that she had no scratches or injuries on her body. After regaining their composure, Lily and her father thanked the lifeguard for saving her life.
On her way home from the beach, the events of the day flashed across Lily’s mind. Her heart was still pounding fast when she thought of what had happened. She learnt a huge lesson on how dangerous the sea waves could be. Lily hoped that she would never experience such a nerve-wracking incident again!
