By Harry Villalonga from reader's digest
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然后，他的手拽到了我的头发。他抓住它，猛的把我的头拉出了水面。父亲拖着我上了岸，开始给我做人工呼吸。我很快苏醒了过来，吐出了很多海水。我睁开眼睛，看到爸爸哭了。我以前从来没有，以后也再没有见过他哭得如此伤心。
When I was five years old，my father worked as a quartermaster1 at the Philippine Bureau of Quarantine.He was stationed at Kawit Island，a small piece of land near the Cebu city ports.In the 1940s the Americans had built a hospital there，which served as a quarantine station for foreign ships entering Cebu.When the Americans left the Philippines after World War Ⅱ，Kawit Island and hospital，which was no longer functional，were left under the care of the Philippine government.A skeletal workforce，including my father，was stationed there to provide security.
It must have been lonely working on Kawit.Tatay，as I called my father，would stay at the staff's house near the old hospital during his three-day shifts.He had only the goats and chickens that roamed freely on the island to keep him company.The coast guard patrol boat would dock there once in a while2，and some local fisherfolk would drop by3 for an afternoon nap.
I hadn't started school yet，so my father would sometimes take me alone with him while he was working.I cherished those moments dearly.Although partically marooned4 on the island with no playmates，I was never short of toys because the ocean swept up a lot of stuff，mostly other people's junk，which I found very interesting and useful.
Each morning upon walking，I would run to the shore to see what treasures the tide had brought during the night.My precious collection included a toy car with missing wheels，little plastic soldiers with no hand or feet，and an assortment of rubber and plastic balls.I stored them in my treasure chest—an ice cream canister that I had scooped6 out of the waves one morning.
One day I saw a beautiful white boat.It was made out of carved Stripe material and had a transparent plastic sail.It was prefect.
I was mesmerized as I watched the wind blow the sailboat towards the shore.My heart thumped7 with excitement as I run to retrieve it before it was swept away again.As I held it in my hand，I vowed never to lose it.I proudly showed it to my Tatay，who was happy enough to see me enjoying myself，although he warned me not to go into the water again without him.
One day，I was floating my boat on the water，carefully staying near the shore where my father was watching，when he remembered that he needed to take his medicine.He instructed me to come back to the shore for a moment before he rushed into a nearby hut that served as the staff's kitchen to take his pill.I started towards the shore as I saw my father turn away.But when I reached out to get boat，a soft wind caught its sail and pushed it away from me.I took a couple of steps towards it，but the current that my movement created kept propelling8 the boat further and further away.
I watched in horror as my boat floated out of reach.I was determined not to lose it.In one huge step，I stretched my arm as far as it could go and strained to grab the boat，but I missed and plummeted9 into the ocean，not realizing how deep the water was and forgetting that I could not swim.I paddled and kicked hard，trying to remain above the surface，but the water was just too deep，the current too strong and my body too weak to fight.I felt myself sinking to the bottom.I gasped for air，but only salty water filled my throat and nostrils.Then I passed out.
When my father emerged from the hut，he was horrified to see me thrashing10 in the water some distance from the shore.He dived in and swam as hard as he could to the spot where I had gone under.He repeatedly dived under the water，frantically searching for my body.
Then his hand brushed against my hair.He grabbed it and yanked my head out of the water.He pulled me to shore and started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation11.I came to soon enough and vomited a large amount of salty water.I opened my eyes to see my father crying.I had never before，and have never，seen him crying so hard.
