Claudine never let go of my hand as we made our way back to my clothes.

We both were stepping gingerly. I knew I had a variety of cuts on the soles of my feet, and walking on rough dirt and sharp pebbles wasn't helping. Claudine was probably in the same situation.

I stooped to pick up my things and she just started staring out across the waves. "I was going to die out there. I knew it. I tried so hard to swim back to the reef. I let go of my camera and I lost my goggles. But

I was so tired... so tired... I found that rock and it was all I could do just to hang on. My strength was gone."

She turned back to me, her clear blue eyes shining.

“If you hadn't been there. Or if you had come just a few minutes later, I would be dead. I am certain of it. The waves kept crashing over me and I kept swallowing more and more water. I would have given up. I would have been too tired and just Let go. You are a miracle. You came and rescued me.”

I wasn't sure how to answer that. I looked down and offered her my sandals. "Please, the ground is rough between here and the beach."

She blinked a few times, still looking at me in absolute adoration. And then she finally slipped her feet into the sandals while I knelt and buckled them to her ankles.

I stood and Claudine grabbed my hand once again, holding on tightly as if Letting go would lead to her death. I pressed my Lips together tightly and nodded my head towards the beach. She let me Lead her on.

“I can't thank you enough. I still can't believe you came when you did.

Look around. Even now, no one has come walking this way. If it wasn't for you, no one would have ever come to rescue me. You really are my miracle."

“I'm just happy I was in the right place at the right time."

She stopped us walking and leaned towards me, her face just a few inches away. I was actually a little intimidated by how intense her stare was, blue Laser beams boring right into the back of my skull. It was a little overwhelming.

I glanced down to get out of that stare. It was a mistake, now I was looking at her tits, so round, firm, and delicious-looking in the white bikini top. I shook my head then turned back to the path.

I was still walking gingerly, wincing with each step. Dammit, there were like a million pebbles on this path. Things weren't that much better when we got back to the beach. The sand was softer, but the heat was now searing the open cuts on the bottom of my feet.

Claudine held my hand the whole way, whispering her thanks over and again while also ruminating on her own stupidity. But eventually, we made it back to a middle-aged couple reclining on some beach chairs.

Claudine called "Papa!" in relief. Her dad, resplendent in a brightly patterned Hawaiian print shirt, got up as we approached and gave me a funny look. Perhaps he thought I was flirting with his daughter.

But as we got closer, he caught sight of the blood and scratches on the both of us, and his eyebrows went up in alarm. He began barking concerned questions in French.

Claudine rapid-fired a response, and then her mother was similarly out of her chair. What followed was a frantic three-way conversation in

French as the story unfolded haltingly, frequently interrupted by more questions. I did catch the name "David" a few times, with that accented dah-VEED.

In a way, all I wanted to do was slip away. Claudine was safe and with her parents. I'd done my thing and now I could go home. Plus, a sudden wave of exhaustion was tugging at my shoulders. But Claudine held fast to my hand, clearly not willing to be separated from her rescuer just yet.

Things only got more complicated when a boy of about 15 in board-shorts waltzed up. Now the parents were laying into him as if it was his fault, and I assumed this was the aforementioned little brother. And the three-way frantic conversation became a four-way frenzied conversation.

Then, just when I thought things were calming down, Claudine's father turned and bear-hugged me. I rocked back from his heavy embrace while he patted my back and said haltingly, “Thank you, David. Thank you for saving the life of my daughter."

The mother said something and pointed at the drying blood on me. Then immediately the father said, “We must get you both cleaned up. Please, come with us. We have, uh, medical supplies in our house."

The mother barked orders at the boy and the beach gear was quickly packed up. Claudine returned my sandals to me, and while it was still painful, walking was at least tolerable now.