The lifeguard was crouched over him. He held his face in his hand. With his other hand he pinched his nose closed. He tipped his chin up and pulled open his mouth, then pressed his lips to him. Two breaths. Another two. Forcing air into him. Another two. Short and sharp. The woman we’d watched run down to the sea screaming knelt beside them. Tears streaked her stricken face. There was a man behind her with his hand on her shoulder with a small girl in his other arm whose head was tucked into his neck.

‘Why’s he bothering?’ Edie said. ‘You can see the kid’s dead.’

Shut up.

‘God, Tamsyn. Can you believe we’re seeing this? I’ve never seen a dead body before. It’s insane.’

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

The lifeguard pumped the boy’s chest with both hands, hard enough to snap his delicate ribs like twigs. I dug my nails into my palm. I saw my dad’s face, eyes glazed, mouth filled with salt water and grit. If he’d been with us on the beach he’d have saved the boy. I knew it for sure and I wished then he was there, that he hadn’t died, that he’d been with us, buying us ice creams, near enough to help these desperate people.

Horror seeped into every part of me as I watched the lifeguard push two more breaths into the child’s listless body. More compressions. A hushed, expectant silence had settled over the crowd, the quiet only broken by the occasional sob or concerned whisper. One by one those watching started to lower their heads sadly. A few turned away, head in their hands, tears forming in their eyes.

But then the boy coughed.

Water sprayed out of his mouth. Another cough. A breath in. His head rolled to one side. Water sputtered from his mouth as if he were vomiting. The crowd seemed to exhale in unison. Somebody laughed. A few people cried out with relief. Then there was clapping. The lifeguard fell back on his haunches with his hands on his thighs. He tipped his head back, eyes closed, body heaving with relief. The mother fell on her son and pulled him close. Her arms knotted around him as her body gave way to shuddering sobs. The man behind her sat down on the sand and held his other child tightly to him as he cried silently.

‘Come on, let’s get out of here.’ Edie sounded disappointed as she turned and walked past me, pushing her way through the people.

My legs were so wobbly I wasn’t sure I could make it back.

‘Jesus,’ Edie breathed. ‘Can you imagine if he’d died? And we’d seen it?’