Hold On

Thunder crashed above as another wave of icy cold slapped his face. Gasping for air and digging his fingers deeper into the wood, Jonah bowed his head behind the boat’s ledge.

“Hold on!” he shouted, voice hoarse against the roaring wind.

“Hold on, hold on!”

Jonah clawed his right hand along the dinghy’s ledge as he dragged his left on the deck, trying to find the woman he knew fell onto the ship with him. Between the storm that had snuffed out the light and his own limited vision, he could barely see the contours of debris blown across the boat let alone find her.

“Hold on, just keep holding!”

Jonah gasped for another breath of salt-stained air. Drowning was his greatest terror, and every instinct screamed at him to fight against the icy grip of the ocean.

Finally, his hand came across something soft and warm as he grabbed the woman’s ankle.

“What’s your name?”

“I can’t see, I can’t see!”

The woman kicked out her legs and knocked Jonah to his knees. He scrambled for purchase across the boards as the boat tilted again. He shot out his left hand and grabbed the woman’s arm in a death grip.

“Just hold on!”

“But I can’t see!”

Another blast of sea exploded over the edge and splashed the woman’s face. It drowned out her cries as she choked on the water.

“It’s okay, just hold on.”

Jonah took three quick breaths, tightening his hold again on the ledge. Blinking, he saw her form come slightly into focus as she pulled her knees closer to her chest.

“Tell me what your name is.”

“It’s L-Leah.”

“Leah? Okay, Leah, it’s okay. Just hold on.”

“Hold on to what, I c-can’t see, I can’t see anything from the beam that hit me, I –“

Jonah drew another breath, dug his fingernails into the wood and gave her arm a gentle squeeze.

“Leah, listen to me. Stop trying to see and just feel. Can you feel me holding on to you?”

He heard her draw a shuddering breath and felt her other hand grab his.

“Yes, I feel it.”

“Okay, and what are you doing?”

“I’m holding on.”

“Yes, just keep holding on. Hold on.”

Jonah repeated the mantra, squinting behind to see if any of the vague shapes looked helpful. His eyes snagged on something black flapping in the wind.

“Leah, listen to me. I’m going to let go –“

“No, you can’t! I can’t see!”

“Leah, stop! Listen to me!”

He tugged on her arm more forcefully and she fell into sniffles again.

“I need to let you go, but only for a little bit! I think I see something that we could cover ourselves with.”

He took a deep breath. Jonah didn’t think it would be useful to tell her he was also blind, though he had the advantage of growing up with it throughout his life. He only needed to let go of her arm for a moment, but he could keep holding on to the ledge the entire time. He could hold on.

“I want you to stay right here and hold on to the ledge behind you. Do you feel the wood pressing into your back?”

“Y-yes.”

“Good. Keep crouched low like that, but turn yourself so you can hold onto the ledge the whole time.”

“O-okay.”

“Okay Leah, I’m going to let go of your arm now. Keep holding on, okay?”

“Okay.”

Steadying himself, Jonah released Leah’s arm and spun so his left hand met the right on the boat’s ledge. Taking two more breaths, he pivoted to start shuffling towards the black curtain snapping behind him.

“That’s it, just keep holding on.”

As fast as he could while sliding his hand along the ledge, Jonah made it to the object and swung his hand down on top of it. Cold, slick and wet – but scratchy.

“I got it, Leah! It’s a tarp, just hold on! I’m coming back.”

Jonah yanked the tarp free and gripped it tightly in his palm as he shuffled back.

“Just hold on, keep holding on.”

Leah’s figure came into blurry focus again as Jonah reached out to grab her arm.

“Okay Leah, I need you to turn back to the front again. Hold on to me if you want to.”

He felt her squeeze his arm as she shuffled around. Jonah tucked his knees into his chest too and pressed his back into the wall, left hand still fisted around the tarp, right hand dug into the ledge.

“Okay, now we need to pull this tarp over our heads until the storm lightens. Can you give me your right hand?”

“But what will I hold on to?”

In order for the tarp tent to be successful, Jonah knew he’d also have to release his hold on the ledge. Drawing another lungful of wet air, he repeated his mantra and the sliver of calm it gave him.

“We’ll hold on to each other. We’ll make it through this.”

Jonah saw her arm flail in front of him as she tried to find his hand. Catching hers, he folded the outer edge of the tarp into her palm and closed it tightly.

“Hold on to this real close for me, okay Leah? Can you do that?”

“Y-yes. I can do it.”

“Okay great. We can do this. On the count of three, we’ll let go of the ledge and link our arms together, okay? Then we’ll fold the tarp over us and press against the wall so we don’t go anywhere.”

“Okay.”

“Ready? 1, 2, 3!”

With a snap of plastic, Jonah looped his arm around Leah’s and loosened a sigh of relief as the rain pelting his head ceased. Wind still snatched at their feet, but the tarp protected their faces as they leaned into the warmth of each other.

“Now what?” Leah whispered.

“Now we just keep holding on to each other.”

Word Count: 992
Written for the 10/16/24 Writer's Cramp prompt: Write a story or poem in which the main characters are blind and must navigate unfamiliar territory by themselves. Use Emotional as one of your genres.