Drowning

I swim peacefully, oblivious. Left arm, right arm, left arm, breathe. Right arm, left arm, right arm, breathe. I’ve got my own pace. This is easy. I go at my own rhythm. Suddenly, something drags me underneath the surface. I kick at whatever’s holding me down. I go up for a breath of air. Up for a second, and it drags me down again. Down. Further down than you could ever imagine. Where it’s so dark that you can’t see a thing. Where there is no light. I struggle to be free. I swim away. I break through the surface. I take another breath of fresh air, then, once again, I go down. I fight, and it lets me go. I swim as far away as I can, as close as possible to the shore. But the waves push me back to where I was. I’m tired. I’m hurt. I can’t do this anymore. I don’t want to do this anymore. This time, when it drags me down, I don’t even fight it. I don’t bother. Bubbles swirl up towards the surface. I look up. One last time, I see the light, shining through the water. Then, everything darkens. The light starts to fade away. I’m losing consciousness. Everything goes black. Everything just simply ceases.