I clutch desperately at the bank, my nails digging into the dirt as I clawed for purchase. Arms trembling, my breathing ragged, I make an attempt to hurl myself up. My hands slip. I clasp onto a clump of grass, the small blades snapping through my fingers.

Panic wells inside of me. My heart bangs against my rib cage like a wronged prisoner demanding escape. My eyes begin to droop, the fatigue setting in. I force them wide open, tightening my grip on the grass. Just one pull…

A wave crashes below me. No, not the sea… another wave. It’s tall enough to skim my dangling foot. I yelp, lifting my feet out of the way. Please… anything but the sea. The tide is slowly coming in below me. My eyes dart around desperately, scanning, searching for escape.

The sea is a monster. It drowns people, pushes people under until their lungs inplode. The waves are unforgiving and the tide is merciless. It took my father, exactly how you imagined it would. A riptide, a wave, and he’s at the bottom of the sea, dead. It killed my father, but it will not kill me.

With a surge of strength, I hurl a leg up to the side of the bank, using the other to kick through the air in a frantic attempt to get momentum. I am almost there… a wave engulfs my leg. I freeze up, my breathing quickening. No, not now… my mind races, trying to get out of the panic the water caused. The bank crumbles. I slip.

I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing for the cold jaws of the sea to close around me. It never comes. A warm grip surrounds my hand and I feel myself moving up through the air. I land on the ground, the grass feels incredible underneath me. I dare to open a single eye. My brother, Atlas, was standing over me, with a triumphant grin on his face.

“Atlas? H-how, why…?” I stutter in shock.

Atlas merely smirks, “The ocean doesn’t deserve you, now, does it?”

I stand, step forward and pull him into a hug, burrying my face in his shoulder.

He pats my back.

I clutch his shirt, “what would I do without you?”

I’m not sure about now the ending turned out, so if you have any better ideas, please let me know :)