Driftwood

Exhaustion

She clung to the piece of driftwood, praying for daylight. The only visible light was from the scattering of stars which gently shone in the cold night sky. Taylor's legs had long since gone numb, her toes, she presumed, were blue from the cold. This was her fourth night now alone at sea, drifting further from land, closer to land, she didn't know.
The driftwood was barely a metre long, maybe 12 inches wide. However, it was thick enough to hold the slight weight of the 16 year old. Her short wetsuit was now ripped beyond repair, due to the driftwood's rough surface. Nevertheless, Taylor was still thankful for it, for without it, she would have drowned days ago. Yes, of course she was a strong swimmer, otherwise she wouldn't have began to learn to surf. No matter how strong a swimmer is, nothing can prepare people for the merciless and strong ocean currents. Taylor had grown used to the sting of salt in her wounds from rocks that she hopelessly tried to cling to in an effort to survive longer, from litter in the sea like tin cans and broken bottles, from the sharp edges of the driftwood piece which was her last hope at surviving. If this broke, Taylor's time on earth would start decreasing faster than it already was.
Taylor's eyes were heavy with sleep, her body limp with lack of energy. She now drifted along with the water's current, as she had no energy left to swim. For all Taylor knew, she could be back where she began, back at her favourite beach. Her eyes were so heavy that she almost didn't notice the bright sun slowly making its appearance over the horizon. Now that daylight was finally here, the search for land could begin once again. The calm water rippled as Taylor dipped her face in its sub-zero temperature. The shock of the cold biting on her raw face woke her up enough to refresh her for another day of scoping the never-ending sea for land, no matter how small.
The number of mirages that Taylor saw had long since been forgotten. Her emotions changed daily. Initially, hope played a large part in her journey home, but now, fear, frustration, anger and sadness were her only reminders of normality. Her emotions had stopped being a roller-coaster after realising on her third day she was seeing mirages of large, picturesque islands, and were now at a stand-still. Exhaustion and panic were her only friends now.