One never knows when an opportunity may come along to be a hero. It is never planned, and probably the last thing on your mind at that moment.

 

My friend, G, loves to snorkel and spent many an afternoon at the far end of the lagoon at the North Beach on Isla Mujeres, Mexico, in the deeper water where the fish and other sea creatures are thick and flourishing. The lagoon is the perfect place to snorkel because the water is so clear and it’s shallow a long way out until you get near the rocks and the bridge.

 

No Small Deed

 

One morning she wandered down to the North Beach to check if her friends were there. As the sun danced on the crystal aquamarine water, G noticed people snorkeling. Then she heard a woman calling something in a different language. At first she thought the woman was calling to someone and ignored her, but after a few moments, she realized the woman was in the deeper water under the bridge and it seemed that she was struggling to stay above the water as she shouted.

 

Looking quickly around her, she saw a group of four young men and women near her. She walked over and asked if they knew what the woman was shouting and if they agreed that it appeared that she may be in distress. G said that maybe they should go see if she needed help.

 

The two young men and the two young women couldn’t understand the woman in the water, but with little hesitation they rushed into the water, and swam over to the women. They helped her back to shore.

 

Wild with fright, eyes crazed, the woman gasped that she was drowning, caught in the current while she was snorkeling. She stumbled to the sand, completely in shock, staring out across the lagoon. It didn’t look so inviting now. G asked her if she would be okay, and she said she just needed to get her breath. She was obviously still dazed from her frightening experience.

 

Telling me all this later, I proclaimed G a true hero. She had saved someone’s life!

 

No small deed. 

 

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