THE NARRATIVE ARC

Maybe We Saved Someone’s Life, or Maybe We Didn’t

Does coincidence, fate, or divine intervention drive our actions?

Sunset picture of the lake we were boating on when we picked up the girl. Photo by author

We finished dinner, and I was settling down to read when my husband grabbed a bottle of wine, two glasses, and said, “Let’s go on a sunset boat ride.”

I was surprised. We don’t usually take the boat out at sunset, because if we venture too far or tarry too long, we could end up navigating home in the dark.

But this was the eve of our anniversary, so I assumed he was being romantic. I grabbed my phone, and as soon as we boarded the boat, began snapping pictures. It was a beautiful evening, clouds tinged red and lacy pink mountain laurel blooms blanketing the shoreline.

I was so absorbed in my picture taking that I didn’t notice anyone swimming, but as two jet skis zipped past, my husband spun our boat around and called out, “Are you okay?” I followed his gaze and spotted the girl, her pale face bobbing like a cork in the churning waves. She ignored his question, so he edged closer, ripples from the jet skis sloshing our boat. She didn’t appear to be trying to move.

“Are you okay? Do you need some help?” He persisted. When she still didn’t answer, he asked her to give us a thumbs up or thumbs down…