Penelope
I remember I was sitting on the couch when my parents walked in. They told me that we were going to Oregon to see our friends and family. They also told me that we would go to the beach. I was very excited! If I knew what was going to happen, I would have been terrified.
We were living in Virginia when I found out about the trip to Oregon. I was about six at the time. It was about a two hour flight. We packed up, and started heading to the airport. This was normal for me, since I went there every summer.
After a boring two hour flight, we arrived. Nothing different. We ate with the family, and drove down to the beach. The sand was very cold, but was warm compared to the water. There were these thin rocks touching the sky. The giant waves were amazing. The beach was the prettiest one I've ever seen. But now I feel like the fact that it was pretty was a disguise.
I don’t remember what we were doing. I remember no one got in the water yet. We were having fun. But things started to go downhill. I remember being very uncomfortable. The icy breeze got to me. The frigid sand filled my swimsuit. But then the nightmare part happened. I decided it was time to go in the water.
I stepped uncomfortably to the ocean. I put my foot in the water. A frosty bolt shot up my leg. I started shivering. I walked back up the slant of sand. I looked back at the ocean with fear in my eyes. But I decided to swallow the lump in my throat and walk back. I dragged my foot into the water. Again, the numbing bolt shot up my leg. But I kept going. I put my whole leg in the water. Other people started going in the water. Paired with the shrieks of my family reacting to the water, I felt a pinch all around my leg.
I flinched and rapidly pulled my leg out of the ocean. And I saw something I wish I never had. I saw little black crabs all around my leg. And they were stuck on tight like magnets. I heard the screams of everyone around me making the same discovery I had but with their own legs. I sprinted down the beach to my parents and begged to leave with tears pouring down my face. So did the rest of my family.
About two hours later, I sat on my grandparents couch staring at my leg. The crabs were gone after hard work of pulling them off. I stared at the marks the crabs left. My cousins and siblings were in the living room with me. My dad came in and suggested a bike ride. My mom suggested a trip to the park. But I decided to spend the rest of my vacation cooped up in the house, refusing to leave.
I felt a sigh of relief as we were on the plane, leaving Oregon. I was excited to feel the warmth and safety of my house. The image of crabs echoed through my head. I tried my best to ignore them. The image of crabs is still ringing in my mind. I will never look at that beach the same again.