[Content warning: Account of someone drowning]

It was easier to walk while talking, his hands dug deep into his pockets.

"It should 'ave been me. We was goin' out to sea with me uncle and cousins. They had t' bigger boat and I was going to go with them to help. But I'd been talkin' back in t' morning and father told me to stay on the boat with him, so 'e could keep an eye on me, and made Tom go on the boat with me uncle. I think 'e's regretted that ever since." He walked without paying attention to where they were going. The details that had tormented him since he had tried to go to sleep were all there in front of him now.

"The wind turned very suddenly when we were out on sea and got stronger. Quite a lot of boats got into trouble. When it comes in from t' north the sea gets rough. And it's especially enterin' t' harbour that's difficult. The waves get so fierce closer to shore. We were turnin' around to go back, and they were ahead of us, but they was havin trouble takin' down their sail. They were close to the harbour when suddenly there was a tall wave and the boat got smashed against t' pier." He shivered. He tried not to remember, usually, but the horrifying image, and the way his stomach had flipped, could still be so real when he thought back of it. "T' lifeboat was out and they managed to pull me cousin out of t' water... He had floated into t' harbour. But we couldn't see me other cousin anymore, and me uncle soon disappeared. We saw Tom struggling near the pier, and we rowed as fast as we could to reach 'im, but we were struggling to keep our own boat from capsizing. I never rowed that hard... 'E kept disappearing under the waves and coming up. Disappearing and comin' back up, and we was trying to reach there with all our might. And then another wave washed over him and he was gone..."

Simon stopped walking and shivered. "His body was t' last to wash ashore... on the other side of Sandsend, a few days after. We recognized him by his clothes..."