opinion

A second chance
by Chelsea Trius

The helmet was secure; the life jacket on. The raft was full of air and we were excited that the rafting adventure down the Chiriqui River was about to begin.

It was early in the morning --- too early, if you ask me, to go anywhere, let alone rafting. The east side of the river slowly became bathed in light, and animals seemed to magically appear along the banks. The skyline was at first a beautiful yellow, and then became a rosy pink. The sun reflected perfectly in the water --- I felt I could reach out and touch it. I then dozed for a moment while the instructor spoke about safety. Why pay attention, after all, what were the chances something would happen to me? I opened my eyes and stared at the clouds. One was shaped like a heart, the other like a flower. I then came back to earth to hear the most important rule: never, under any circumstances, panic.

Then the day began for us. Four boys and three girls were in my raft. We thought we were pretty balanced. The excitement that ran through my body was like a rush of adrenaline as we paddled down the river. Every time we encountered a strong current we'd work as a team to fight through it. We were beating every other raft and we enjoyed looking back to tease them. We even made our own victory ritual: we'd raise our paddles up in the air and splash them in unison on the water's surface. The sound it made was so loud it made us feel invincible. That is, until a current came that tossed our raft into a pit of despair. We began to row as hard as we could. I thought we we'd get by like we did the other ones, but suddenly this feeling of panic overcame me.

A vast whirlpool sucked us in. It happened faster than I could react. A raft vanished beneath us and we were thrown in different directions. I ended up in the vortex. I couldn't help but panic. Water rushed at me from every direction. I didn't know what to do. My throat closed and I couldn't breathe. A white swirling wall was all I saw, nothing else.

At that moment, as I was trying to fight the force of the water, I just thought, "Please, God, don't let this be my end."

It couldn't be. I wasn't ready.

I struggled to reach the top of the wall. But I was twirling in every direction, all the time hoping the currents would push me over the top. That didn't happen, though, and, exhausted, I just gave up. And at that moment an unusual calmness came over me. I allowed the water to take me and I put my life into destiny's hands.

Suddenly this force grabbed my hips and flung me high enough to make me jump out of the water. Those who saw what happened think it was just the strength of the whirlpool, but I believe it was my guardian angel. I believe she knew my time was yet to come.

I coughed up water from my lungs. After that, I was in tears and just wanted to feel my mother's embrace. As frightening as that moment was, when I finally was wrapped in her arms, she couldn't stop laughing. She told me I was being childish, and that nobody was going anywhere anytime soon.

But I just looked up and thanked the heavens.

Chelsea Trius is a senior at Balboa Academy