Blinded

It was a Saturday in early December and I was staying with my family at our country house in the Lake District. It was a tradition to spend my mother's birthday amongst the beautiful lakes of northern England. I was getting ready as the sun came down to go to the local pub with my parents and a couple of friends.

We decided to walk there because no one wanted to drive back after drinking a couple of pints, especially down those curvy roads. It was a blast! The music, the people, the laughter...all of it was great, but it was getting really late and we knew we had better get back. It was pitched black, you couldn't even see the roads. I rummaged in my bag for the torch but I couldn't find it. I had left it at home. Stumbling in the dark, we started making our way home, taking a short cut around the huge lake between the pub and our house.

The freezing wind whipped against my face, it was cold, and it was getting later by the minute. Afraid we had lost our way, I told my parents about another path to take. Suddenly I heard a scream, then a thundering splash. My mother had fallen through the ice of the lake! My father, shouting, took off his jacket and threw it into the lake, she grabbed onto it but it just kept slipping. Panicking, I started to cry, only making things worse. Then, all of a sudden, there was the sound of a yelping dog. A beautiful golden retriever plunged into the lake, grabbed onto my mother and pulled her out. The dog had heard the screaming and ran to the rescue.