There was a man on the island, Arn realized. He had only a few dozen feet left between his battered branch and the sandy beach of the shoal, but he had been paddling his legs with his eyes closed and his chin tucked low against his makeshift buoy. One glance, to check how close he had been after hours of trying to swim, had nearly shocked him enough to let go.
The man was barely more than an outline in the middle of the cloudy night. He was shirtless, wiry, and waving his arms to the splashing survivor. As Arn crossed the last few meters, he finally heard the man’s words, drifting through the strong breeze. “Keep coming, keep coming, please.”
Arn did just that. He didn’t care about the man, he thought. He cared about the ground, where he could stop his kicking against the Deep and just let himself go to sleep for eternity.
“You’re alright,” the man called, as Arn got closer. “Put your feet down!”
Arn felt as though he had to crack his posture to do so. He forced one foot down, jerkily, and anchored himself against the surprisingly close bottom. He joined his other foot to the first, but refused to let go of the branch. As he dragged slowly to a stop, he reluctantly started to stand. He floundered, and splashed forward, releasing his branch and face-planting in the water again.
“No, no, no,” the man gasped. He waded in as Arn clambered upright again. The castaway had a mangy beard and wild, long hair. He was missing a thumb, Arn noticed, as the man grabbed him. Half-stumbling and half-hauled, Arn found himself freed from the wretched Deep. He fell to his knees on the beach, and the man fell with him.
“I never thought—” the man’s gruff voice broke. He was weeping, for some reason. He took a big breath and tried again. “I never thought I would see another person. Oh, thank the spirits.” The man grabbed Arn’s shoulders in an embrace.
Arn was too tired to even kneel, in such a way. He let himself fall into the man’s weak arms, and the two fell into the sand, shoulder on top of shoulder. He never thought he would see another person either, he realized. “Thank you,” the man whispered, moaning. Arn started to weep too, but it didn’t last long. He dropped into the dreamworld by his third sob.