Page 38 of Sensing Selma
I need to breathe. I have to breathe. I need air. Get me air.
My vision narrowed, grew dark and my head felt light.
No. This couldn’t be happening.
I finally found the surface and slapped the top of the water, gasping for breath that was just never enough. I went under, my consciousness leaving me as my weakened limbs did nothing to keep me afloat.
A large splash nearby surprised me, but I had no idea what it was. At this point, on the verge of drowning, did it really matter what beast was in the water with me?
As that thought faded, I was suddenly grabbed, a big strong arm wrapping under my arm and around my chest, dragging me backward.
“What?”I muttered as I tried to make sense of what was happening to me.
“I’ve got you,” a male voice said. “Calm down. I’ve got you.”
We finally reached shallow water, and he pulled me out and laid me on the muddy shore.
Panicked, my eyes wide, I fought for air.
“Calm down,” he said as he leaned over me. “You’ll all right. Just breathe. Calm now, breathe.”
I finally focused in on his face. “Damen?”
“I heard your screams from way over there. I ran to you as quickly as I could. What made you jump into the water like that? Especially if you don’t know how to swim.”
I cried, tears of frustration and humiliation. “I do know how to swim,” I argued. “Not very well, but I can swim. I just got...I was...” I looked plainly at him. “I didn’t jump into the water. I would never jump into a pond like this. There are frogs and fish and...”
“Oh. So you fell in?”
Crying, I nodded.
“A frog scared you?”
I shook my head. “A snake. A big, black ugly snake.”
He pulled me into his arms and held me as I sobbed. “Everything’s okay now. You’re safe. Everything is going to be all right.”
Through my tears, I smiled with relief, happy that he was the one to have saved me.
