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hen I broke the surface and gasped
for breath.
I lay on my back gasping for a long time, and then I remembered. Mary,
what had become of her? The image of Maki's torn-off legs hanging from Maki's
floating flippers was burned into my mind. What had happened to me? I
remembered seeing the fish, I remembered feeling the pain in my legs, I
remembered the teeth ripping into my hips. How had I been rescued?
I was so hungry I could hardly think, and I'd lost my mask and snorkel.
I had enough sense to orient myself, and then I began swimming for the
beach. I could tell that my legs were injured, so I swam on my back,
using my hands and favoring my legs. With what rational thought I could
muster, I hoped to be able to crawl from the beach to the house to get
some food.
I didn't realize I was at the beach until my bottom brushed the sand. I
rested for a moment, and then gingerly pulled myself up onto my elbows so
I could see what my legs looked like. I still had feeling in my heels; I
could feel them dragging on the sand, so I thought that my legs hadn't
met the same fate as Mary's.
The fi
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