Water.

That one word meant everything to me. Ever since I could remember, I had every birthday party a 'pool' themed and we'd buy those day passes for the pool and all my family and friends would come over. When my parents first showed me Disney's The Little Mermaid, that started a whole other level on my 'obsession' over all things water.

I started competitively swimming when I was about eight. But when I turned ten things changed. But not for my water obsession, no. It was something more.

I started to sense the tension in my home, between my parents. I couldn't sleep some nights because I could hear their arguments from the other room. Within six months, my parents, whom I thought loved eachother, split. I suppose they did love eachother, but, sometimes it doesn't always work out.

We moved shortly after, to a homely beach town in North Carolina, where I learned to surf. On the beach, in the hot sun, I met Samantha and James, my bestest friends in the whole world.

Looking back on my life before my kidnapping, there was always a hint at what was to become of me.