Everything happened so fast. One moment I was clinging to the railing of our ship and the next I was staring straight into the sun. I sat up and looked around. I saw nothing, nothing but blue. Then I felt a pain so fierce in my head I bellowed aloud. At that moment all the memories of the night before were spinning in my head. The alarm, the lights, the power going off, clinging to the ship, and that howling, ripping wind. Then nothing, nothing at all.

Our family was on a missions trip to Africa. Mom, Dad, Randy and I shared a small cabin aboard the U.S.S. Regina. It was to be a twelve day voyage, and we were all seasick the first two days. Mom and Dad were always in their books and Randy was always Instant Messaging his girlfriend. I, being a girl of fifteen, was a curious creature and wanted to explore. I was able to meet our captain and he taught me much about the sea and its ways. He said we were three days from the mainland. I fancied sailing so much that I had wished to stay at sea just a while longer, little knowing what lay ahead.

On the ninth day of our voyage we received word of a storm that lay ahead. The captain said he had handled many storms in his day; so we decided to press on. Night fell and with it came gigantic waves that threw our ship about. My family had decided to speak with the captain about this. When we reached the deck the wind tore at our clothes and our faces driving us back. All of a sudden, it seemed as though we had entered the mouth of Hell. An alarm was ringing and lights were flashing saying this was most certainly a true emergency. The light and sirens stopped in fear of what was coming next. Then my body had the queerest feeling and I began to slide backward towards the stern. I grabbed for anything I could and my hand caught the railing of the ship. The vessel rose up like a snake ready to spit venom. I heard my father's voice. Then I was overcome by that void where there is no light or sound.

Sitting here in a raft no bigger than a twin size bed, in the middle of a vast blue ocean, I found myself alone. My thoughts raced at the thought of what might have happened to the others. Had they gone down with the ship? All the people I cared about were gone forever; eaten up by this cruel, wicked sea. Realizing I was completely alone, I cried the bitterest tears I had ever cried. Then sleep took me. I dreamed colorful dreams with Mom, Dad and Randy and our three little dogs in them. Their faces were so happy and light. I woke up again, and was covered in a blanket of darkness. My head throbbed and my tongue was like sandpaper in my mouth. I realized I had not had anything to drink in about twenty-six hours. The thirst was overwhelming! I was very close to taking a gulp of seawater when something the captain said stuck out in my mind. He had told me that if one was ever lost at sea they should never take in seawater, because it absorbs the water from your body and can kill you before help arrives.

Help! Yes, help might come for me. The captain had to put out a distress signal at our location. The thing is the storm could have easily blown a little raft off course. Would they ever find me out here? So many doubts. Would I ever get to live out all my girlish whims or see my sixteenth birthday? Would I want to live without a family to be by my side? So many questions and so many doubts. I was sent into a fit of sobs that made my head pound harder. Yet once more I fell into a fitful sleep.

I was awakened by a thud against the bottom of my raft. It startled me so much I almost jumped out. My first thought made me believe it was a shark, because the wound on my head was bleeding and I caught a glimpse of a fin. Then I heard a noise that could only be one animal in the whole world. It was a dolphin. It had surfaced and had one eye focused intently on me. I had never seen a dolphin up close. The expressions it made were almost human. Then as quickly as it had come, it was gone. That day my thirst became worse and the sun was unbearable. My skin was raw from the salt water and my head still throbbed. I so desperately wished for Aspirin. I so desperately wished for a lot of things! Only this is where one wish brought me. Alone, in pain, destined to die. How did I ever get on this raft? I do not remember a thing about it. Maybe, if I had gone down with the ship I would not have to tortured like this. This stupid raft is a curse. I have no hope! There have not even been any planes flying over me.

At that moment I contemplated suicide. It would be easy to jump out and let this same ocean that killed my family take me to a watery grave. The pain of losing Mom, Dad and Randy would be over and so would the pain in my head as well as my thirst. There it was, that thud. The dolphin was back. It looked at me and I realized it was here for a reason. I did not know right then, but that dolphin would be my only hope for a very long time.

Ocea, as I called her, came back the next morning at about the same time. This time she surfaced and she had something in her mouth. I watched as she threw it into the air. It landed in my raft. It looked like a coconut, only slimy. It was hard and greenish brown. Taking it in my hand I put it to my nose. It smelled fishy. I pressed on it with a great amount of force and it broke open. Inside it was red and had something that looked like grape juice. I put it to my mouth and it had the aroma of an apple. I took a big bite. It was the best thing I had ever tasted. I ate it all. It seemed so unreal. Yesterday, I thought I was destined to die on this forsaken ocean. Now God has provided me with a friend who has brought me food. The hope I thought I had lost came back. I knew I would live.

Twice a day Ocea brought me fruit. She also stayed around for awhile. I started to talk to her as she was the only one there. She seemed to listen to me and understand. She would bring her friends sometimes and they would jump about making high pitched noises and doing tricks that I thought only the dolphins at Sea World could do. They were different from humans, but alike in many ways. Especially Ocea, she would stare at me when I was sitting there all alone and I would stare back. We seemed to be bonding a lot. One day she let me pet her. It was a thrilling experience.

During those days I thought about a lot of things. About my life and if or when I got back to civilization. I though about civilization itself with all the criminals and rude people. None of the dolphins were like that and I had never had a friend as close as Ocea before. Sometimes I wanted to turn into a mermaid and swim off into the sunset with the dolphins. I learned that life was about having real true friends that will take care of you when you can't and give you the hope to live when you would rather be dead. Ocea did not have to give me a long speech about how she thought life was worth living all I had to do was look into her eyes and I could see it. She was my true friend.

I sat each day on my raft doing little exercises to keep moving and talking to Ocea. Each day her friends did a little trick show for me. I was one of the group. They all let me pet them. One day I was sitting gazing up into the sky looking at the clouds when I heard a high pitched dolphin call. It was Ocea and she seemed to be calling me. There she was surfaced right next to my raft. Her eyes showed a sense of urgency. I wondered what she wanted. Then it dawned on me, the clouds, Ocea's frantic behavior. Animals know when something bad is about to happen. Ocea was telling me a storm was brewing. From the looks of the sky it was definitely going to be bad. My thoughts began racing. If it was another storm like the one that sank our ship, this raft would not stand a chance. My only hope was to get away as fast as possible and that meant my only chance was if Ocea helped me.

It seemed to be getting darker and darker. The sky seemed to get a mean expression. Ocea was still by my raft. I could think of nothing. Suddenly, I thought of it. Ocea was a good and fast swimmer. If I could make a rope of some sort and tie it to her, maybe she could pull me. However, would she be fast enough to outrun this storm? I had a windbreaker I had used as some protection from the sun. I took it and started tearing it into thin strips and tying them together to make a rope. I tied the rope to a loop on the front of the raft. Ocea was hesitant at first about the rope, but ended up letting me tie it around her. Then, with a jerk, my raft was moving so fast it seemed to be skimming right over the water like a speedboat. The wind started blowing hard and little drops of rain were falling. The waves were strong and hard now, not calm little swells that they had been all those days before. Some of the waves were raising above the raft and making it gain water. With all my might I tried scooping it out with my hands.

My boat was still moving, but I could not see Ocea. The rain was falling harder now and the wind was almost knocking me out of my raft. Then the horrible realization came. My raft would not make this storm! I grabbed hold of the rope attached to the front of the boat and I could feel Ocea's force pulling it. I tied it to my wrist out of fear. Then I thought of the storm on the ship and how bad the waves and wind were. To throw a ship into the air they had to be very powerful waves. I was covered with water now and the wind was knocking me about. I still had hold of Ocea's rope when I felt my life raft come from beneath me and I went crashing into the cold water below. I fought for breath, but the water filled my lungs instead. The last thought I had was of Ocea's force pulling the rope. Then I slipped into that oddly familiar black, noiseless void.

I can't even begin to tell you what happen next. It seems like some fantasy, but I do believe it was the hand of God. I was lying in the warm comforting sand when I opened my eyes. I was - No it could not be - I was on land. Then I heard voices not high pitched dolphin noises, but human voices. They were surrounding me. I saw a man with black skin and he said something I could not understand. I knew I was safe and that somehow Ocea had rescued me from that ferocious storm the night before.

I woke up in a hospital bed surrounded by nurses and doctors. They were looking at me with smiles. One asked how I felt. I did not know what to say. I did not feel that bad, but everything seemed so different here. I was not awakened by Ocea's familiar call. The ocean's current was not rousing me. The nurse called in two people. I looked in disbelief when I saw my Mom and Dad. Mom rushed forward and hugged and kissed me. She was saying over and over again, "My baby is alive, my baby is alive." Dad even seemed to be crying as he greeted me. That day my parents told me what had happened. The ship we were on had capsized in the storm. Dad had found life boats and was inflating them. They lost track of me. Dad says he inflated two life boats, but he lost track of one. Dad, Mom and Randy got into a life boat. The captain was tragically lost at sea. They looked for me, but the storm was so bad they could not see anything. They were found two days later. They had sent out searches for me, but no one ever seemed to even know where to look. We thought you were dead they told me over and over. My parents asked me how I survived, "How did you not die from thirst or hunger or loneliness?"

I told them of Ocea and the dolphins. How Ocea fed me with that fruit from the sea and gave me the hope to go on. It is still a mystery to me how I got on the raft in the first place or how I survived the second storm it will always be, but I do think Ocea had something to do with it. I know deep down in my heart that God sent Ocea to give me the hope and will to live. I will never forget those weeks I spent at sea they will stick with me to the end of time. I go down to the sea every once in awhile now. Sometimes I even think that I hear Ocea's familiar call. I stand and listen remembering all the lessons she taught me. I would love to give my little girl a friend like Ocea, but I think God especially meant her for me. Every time I leave the beach I whisper, "God Bless You Ocea."