Lost at Sea

     The third day on the ship there was a strange noise and somewhat of a vibration.  I looked at Adam.  "What was that?!"
     He looked back with confusion and went to a window to see outside.  "There's a BOAT out there!"
     "A boat?  What do you mean a boat?" 
     Going towards the window, I couldn't understand what he meant.  We had been out to sea for days and were in the middle of nowhere.  What kind of boat could there be?
     "You mean a ship?"
     "NO!  A BOAT!  A little boat...like a raft.  It looks like someone got shipwrecked or lost at sea or something." 
     Reaching the window, I couldn't believe what I saw.

     He was right.  There was a small boat out in the middle of nowhere. 
     "What in the World?!"  Grabbing Adam's hand, we started running up flights of stairs to the outside of the ship.  Reaching the side, we looked over and there it was.  A small boat that definitely had people in it.

      Some employees from the ship began to gather and we asked what would happen.  They told us that our ship had already stopped when they saw the boat.  The US Coast Guard was called and we were waiting for them to arrive to take it from there.
      Standing and watching the boat, we expected the stranded people to try anything to move towards the ship to be rescued but they didn't.  It almost seemed like they were trying to go in the opposite direction.  It was then that I became a little nervous.  The way I figured, if you were lost at sea and had been found...you'd be acting like a crazy person trying to go towards the help.  Why weren't they? 
     Little by little, passengers from the ship began to gather along the sides to see what was happening.  We began to hear murmurs of everything from, "What if they're bad guys?  Why are we stopping...let's go."  to "They must be refugees and they're trying to get away from us so we don't pick them up." 
     Everyone seemed confused with the whole situation. 
Suddenly, the make-shift sail from the boat began to lower.  

     The tension began to rise around us as people whispered, "What are they doing?  Who are these people?" 
     The little boat began to redirect and come towards us.  It looked like the people pulled out what seemed like paddles and began to row.  There was a strange mixture of fear and wonder.  
     Coming closer to us, they began to wave their arms seeming as though they were friendly, or asking for help. 

    A large door on the side of the ship opened and the small boat approached it.  As the people climbed on, we all still wondered who they were and what was happening.  There was no sign of the Coast Guard yet but an announcement came overhead that the ship would keep the people contained and make sure that they were taken care of.  
    As their boat was cleared out and the people were taken in, we looked down to see what they were traveling in.  It was unlike anything I had ever seen. 

     If they really were refugees, where were they coming from and what was so bad where they lived to make them risk their lives at sea under such conditions?  It was hard to believe altogether and a pit grew in my stomach.
     Eventually the Coast Guard arrived as everyone stood and watched.

     The people who were lost at sea were loaded onto the Coast Guard's boat and whisked away.  We still don't know who they were or what their story was.  
     Word spread on the ship that they had been out to sea for three days and were completely out of food and water.  It's hard to think what would have happened to them.  
    It's even harder yet to think about where they came from if in fact they were trying to escape.  I hope they're okay.  It was such a huge reminder of how truly fortunate we are to live in freedom.   

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