Finally grew sick of hearing their taunts in my head.
“Sissy”
“Salt. Afraid you’ll melt when you touch the water?”
I’ve had enough. I decided to pick a pool far away from where we went to hang out. I was going to learn to swim and shock them all. They’ll see. They’ll learn to shut their mouths when I glide through the water. Oh I can see their faces now. See their gaping jaws when I deep into the pool and saunter over to them. I hopped on my bike and off I went.
I rode out of town, knowing the pool I had in mind. I was really far away. It always looked empty each time my parents drove by it on our way to church. I would sit in the back and wonder if anyone ever swam there. I didn’t even look like people worked there. But today, I pedalled furiously to that lonely pool. My friends always teased me sore. The pool was my least favorite place to hang out. But more times than not, we often ended up there. I would sit tight. Far away from the water. Far away from the splashes. Tight enough that they could never pull me in, even by surprise. I just hated the water. But I was going to overcome that fear today. I was going to learn to swim.
My thighs were aching by the time I got to the pool. I pushed in the rickety gate and pushed my bike in. It looked like no one was around. The pool wasn’t even a really big pool. Just your normal rectangular pool. Not even Olympic size. I looked around for anybody. No one in sight. I was tempted to leave. However, it felt like the water was calling out to me. It was murky and posed an air of mystery around it. I lay my bike against the wall by the gate and went to the locker room to change. Again, it was empty. I quickly put on my new swim trunks and went out to the pool. I felt silly.
I had watched countless videos on swimming and they all said the same thing.
“The water will feel cold the first time you enter it”
“Don’t panic”
“Don’t try to swim your first time. Just get a feel of the water”
As I tried putting my foot into the water, I knew there was no going back from this. It was all or nothing. As I stepped in, a guy stepped up from under the water. I almost fell in from surprise. It was a rude interruption. I thought no one was around. It was even weird how he stepped out. No telltale signs, no bubbles, no ripples. It was like one second he just appeared in the water. I kept gripping the edge of the pool till my knuckles turned white.
“Hello, I thought there was no one around”
“Hi. I have been here for quite a while now”
“Did you see me walk in?”
“Nope. I’ve been practicing holding my breath under water. It wasn’t until you came to the edge I noticed someone was around”
“It felt really scary, thinking the entire pool was empty. And now it feels awkward knowing you were here the entire time”
“Hey, don’t grip too hard. You should loosen up and start swimming.”
“I really can’t swim. I was planning to start learning today. Watched a hundred videos on it”
“Forget those corny videos. Come on in and swim. You float, I promise”
I did a quick study on the guy. He looked just about older than I was. He was a particularly unremarkable guy. No outstanding features. He had this generic face. In fact, there was just two odd things about him. He had this perpetual sly smile. Like he knew something I didn’t. The second was, there were no ripples around this guy, no matter how much he bobbed in the water and even when he moved. No ripples. Nothing. Or so I thought. It was probably my eyes playing tricks. I didn’t want to trust him but the way he spoke felt like a melody pulling me to him. My brain screamed at me to distrust him but I found my body letting go of the edge of the pool and moving towards him. He still had that suspicious smile.
“Come on. More closer. You’ll float too, I promise”
I kept on trudging shakily. Inching closer and closer till I felt it grip my feet. It was like a hundred hands reached up the bottom of the pool to grab my feet. I looked up at him and he still had that smile
“You’ll float. You’ll float"
Horror creeper into my face. The hands were inching higher and pulling me in. I tried to scream but there were no words. They seem like they were trapped in my throat, like hot yam trying to choke me.
“You’ll float too.”
He still had that smile on his face.
I tried to move my body but it was paralyzed. It was like I was gripped in a vice. And I kept sinking and sinking. I tried to scream but the water had gotten to my mouth level. Water started gushing into my mouth. I tried to struggle but to no avail. Tried to hold my breath but I kept on inhaling.
“You’ll float too”
The water painfully filled my lungs. I tried to push myself up but my head felt heavy. I still saw that smile in front of me. It was the last thing I saw till I suddenly became still. I could fight no longer. And then came the darkness. It was all black
Black
Black
Black
Till my lifeless body floated to the surface.
