Prologue

It was 6:00 am when Sarah woke on a clear June day. It was the first day of summer. As the sun quickly rose, she started her routine. Sarah hurried to get changed; She wanted to get out there before the lake filled up with little kids in floaties and teenage boys trying out their wake boards.

As she padded out on to the dock, Sarah stopped for a moment to take in the view. The water stood still as the early morning sun glittered. The old pines stood tall on the horizon like ancient guardians protecting her from the real world. She silently hopped into her small wooden boat and began to paddle.

As she made her way across the lake towards the raft, she daydreamed about what the summer would be like. Chelsea would be coming up north the next day, and visions of floating and reading and swimming all day immediately danced about Sarah’s head. Dropping the anchor about ten feet from the raft that she had, by then, pulled up to, she dove into the water, cleansing her thoughts and washing the stress of classes and life away.

Once Sarah had climbed the ladder to the top of the raft, she laid down. Being on top of that raft was like being on top of the world. She was on the top of a mountain in the middle of the ocean. If she could, Sarah would never leave that spot. She would sit there all day long. There would be no need for water or food or sunscreen or people. She had everything she needed on the top of that raft.

The sun had risen so that it was in front of Sarah now. As the early morning peace faded, Sarah carefully stepped down the ladder that led up to the top of the raft. She made her way through the water to the boat and started paddling her way back. The sun dried the water from Sarah’s skin as she floated across the lake and back to the real world.