A Very Good Day

A Very Good Day

By Tom

I stare at the boat inching closer and closer to me. It casts a dark shadow in the water, and I shiver. I look at my mom, dad, sister, brother, and my sister-in-law all smiling at the driver who smiles back as he parks the boat at the dock. All I do is stare. Before we left the hotel, I went out to the balcony and looked at the beautiful city of Positano, Italy. My mom assured me that everything would be alright. She said that today would be a good day. I doubted it.  

I haven’t told many people this story, but I think it’s time I do. A few years ago, I went on a boat in Australia. We were going to the Great Barrier Reef. It was supposed to be a good day. It didn’t turn out that way. On our way there, we hit rough seas. The boat rocked back and forth and back and forth over and over until my body couldn’t take it. I got terrible sea sickness for the rest of the way. When I finally got off the boat, I was wet from the crashing waves, dirty, and scarred for life. I knew I would never forget that dreadful day.  

I watched as the man on the boat motioned for my family and I to come aboard. I felt a rush of panic and jolted backward.

“What’s wrong, Tom?” My mom questioned.

“Um… N-nothing.” I stammered.

I looked at my family all staring at me with a wondering look on their faces as if they had completely forgotten about that terrible day in Australia. I put that thought aside and focused on what I had to do. I knew I had to be brave, so I took a leap of faith and slowly walked toward the boat. When I came to the steps of the boat, I stopped. Be brave, you’ve gotta be brave, I thought. I took one step. Images of the storm flew into my head. I took another step, and the memories kept coming. I couldn’t take it. I ran up the steps as fast as I could. When I reached the top, I sighed and waited for my family to accompany me.

As soon as my family had gotten on the boat, I heard a low rumbling sound coming from the back of the boat. The engine. I quickly sprinted to the cushioned seats and flopped down on one. I felt the boat slowly start to move. I grabbed at the railing of the boat and held on tight as if I would have to brace myself at any given moment.

A few minutes later, I saw my family go near the back of the boat. I was still holding onto the railing. I looked at my hands stuck to the railing like glue. My knuckles were white, and my hands had started to cramp. Slowly and steadily, I lifted my hands from the railing and left them dangling at my sides. I knew that we were going to be on the boat for most of the day, so I had to orient myself. I looked around the boat. All around the sides, I saw cushioned seats like the one I was sitting on. Near the middle of the boat, there was a big area for sunbathing. I knew my sister and sister-in-law would be there sooner or later. I tried to smile at the thought, but I couldn’t. The same anxious face was still there. I sighed. I decided to try and walk around the boat.

I looked at the floor shaking from the small waves splashing against the boat and slowly put one foot down, then the other. I pushed off of the chair, and I was standing. I took a few steps and instantly, I felt dizzy. Oh no, I thought. I planted my feet firmly on the ground and closed my eyes.

A few seconds later, I opened my eyes again. The Nausea had faded a bit and I tried to keep walking. Halfway across the boat, I saw the man driving the boat. He had thin brown hairs coming out of the sides of his hat. He had very tanned skin and was very tall. He smiled at me as I walked near.

“Hey there!” he exclaimed. “You OK?” I could hear a slight Italian accent as he spoke.

“Um… yeah,” I replied.

“Alright then,” he said.

He gave me one more smile and then drew his attention back to his boat. I walked toward the back of the boat where I saw my family all smiling and talking on a big couch.

Slowly my eyes drifted from my family to the scene around me. Positano, Italy was still in site. I could see the big clump of buildings that climbed up the big mountain. I could still see our hotel overlooking the beach below which was scattered with multi-colored umbrellas. As we slowly gained distance from Positano, I noticed the beautiful, deep, blue water that seemed to shine from the sun’s reflection. The view was unimaginable. It was then when I realized how lucky I was to be here. I was on a nice boat with a friendly driver, and a once in a lifetime view was right in front of me. As I stared at the scene around me, a thought hit me. I teared my eyes away from the view, and I looked at my family. They were still glued to the couch talking with happy faces. My family… I thought.

This was one of the only times my brother, sister and sister in law were all in one place with me. This was supposed to be a day for family. Suddenly I almost felt selfish for thinking about a stupid motion sickness when really, my focus should have been on my family. More images of that dismal day in Australia flew into my mind. I remembered how my sickness ruined my parents experience of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. I remember their sad faces as they looked at me. I glanced at my parents side by side exchanging stories with my brother. They all looked happy. I felt something brewing inside of me. I thought, I’m not going to make this day a repeat of Australia. Today will be a good day just like my mom said. Today will be a good day. Suddenly, something inside of me changed and for the first time that day, I actually smiled. I turned to my family, and I could see that they had stopped talking and were smiling back at me. Today would be a good day, I thought. Today would be a good day.