When the lights went dim, I knew something was wrong. Confusion set throughout the plane. The crack of the intercom quieted everybody down. The captain said “there is an electrical problem that we cannot get to; we are going to crash.” I could see the faces of horror throughout the plane. Everyone on the plane went silent; nobody said anything. My memories overtook me.

I, Megan Rider, needed to get away from the stresses of my life. I am a New York journalist and this job never slows down. There is always a story or some problem. And of course I have to be there on the spot. I had written a top story titled: How Far We Go to Impress Others. I guess now it is the last story I will ever write. Because of the story, my boss gave me a week paid vacation. I chose Hawaii, of course; that has to be the perfect getaway.
I have had many relationships, some close, some only lasting a couple of days.
I have always wanted to be married and have never found the right guy. I guess I am just too shallow. I am proud of my appearance. It kind of comes with the job. I have long brown hair and smooth skin; I have only had one zit that I can count. And I was only fifteen years old. I go to the gym every morning to keep fit… CRASH!

The plane hit the ocean water. I quickly unbuckled to look for survivors. There were already people up doing the same thing I was. I could feel the ocean water crawl up my legs. We needed to go. If we didn’t hurry we would be trapped in the plane forever. I looked for a way out; I knew the doors would not open with water pressed against them.

I made my way towards the front of the plane. As I was going to the front, this woman said something to me. I could not understand her so I leaned in closer. She said it again; it was still a faint whisper. The third time I heard her say “if you get me out of this plane, I will give you whatever you want in return.” She didn’t have to give me anything, but why not take the offer?

I helped her out of her seat, she followed me. We went to the cabin. The door was open; I had never seen the front of the plane before. This is where the captains actually flew the plane. The windshield had shattered, so I swam through it, still holding the woman by the arm. We made our slow way to the surface of the water. When I got to the top, I scanned the ocean water; many people were already there. There were many others coming up from the wreckage. I told the woman that the one thing I would like would be for everyone here to be rescued. “I can do that” was her only reply.

Nobody knew which way to swim, or what was going to happen, so we all just waited at the surface. Within minutes a rescue boat came to our rescue. We were only a mile from the coast of the main island of Hawaii. We were so close to being there safely. Finally we made it to Hawaii. We had escaped death. I don’t know what happen to the old woman, because after getting on the boat; we were separated. Was it a coincidence that we happen to be so close to the coast? Or was it the woman that brought us there? I should have asked for her name. I wait for her at the shore where we came in, hoping she would return, searching for her, just so I could say thank you for freeing me from death.