A/N: The things when you start spring cleaning your laptop, you find out how forgetful you are. ...
This isn't exactly a new story. This was originally an essay I wrote for English class. This piece could easily get me into trouble with another teacher but thankfully, my teacher was one of those who acknowledged and encouraged us to use a little creativity when writing. There is no point letting it lie wasted, so I shall just put it up anyway.
Bear in mind, this was written more than 2 years ago so it will most definitely suck.
The usual disclaimer applies here. Happy reading!
I can feel myself slowly sinking into the water. The cool water caressed my skin gently as felt myself sink deeper and deeper into the pool but at this point, I am too tired to even fight it. The water used to be my everything, my dreams and life centered around the swimming pool itself. The smell of chlorine, the coolness of the water and the feeling of my body sliding effortlessly in it, I remember it all too well. But it is all useless for me now.
3 years ago, I came all the way to Australia to attend a swimming school, in hopes that it would bring me closer to my dream of competing in the Olympics. I left my parents, my younger sister and my friends back home in order to achieve that dream, but what didn't expect was the vast difference between things at home and in Australia.
Here, everyone is much more competitive than I expected. Swimming used to be fun even at when you're doing it at a competitive level, but here, everyone treated it like it was life or death. All my other teammates were either waking up at the crack of dawn for practice or staying in the pool even though practice was long over. Every time I entered the pool, I could feel the tension coming from the rest of them, especially when the competition period is around the corner. The pressure on you to perform even better is almost overwhelming.
I used to love swimming, whether in the relay with Haru, Makoto, Nagisa, or racing against Sousuke on a bet. With them, swimming was always free and easy, almost like breathing, but here, the relay races were nothing more but a temporary alliance to win the race. Back home, I knew I could always count on my friends to cover for me whenever I screwed up but now, I have to stand alone. I never made any real friends whether in school or during training. Most of them were too busy to even spare me another glance while the other couldn't help but throw scornful gazes at me whenever I'm around. So, I learnt to depend only on myself.
I thought that going home and defeating Haru would make me feel better about myself, but I was naïve. He had always been the better swimmer among the two of us and I had hoped that my training in Australia would help me beat him, but instead, I lost. Dejected that I have lost yet again to him, I lost my interest in the sport and quit swimming completely.
I have never set foot into the water since then.
Yet here I am, in the school swimming pool once again, slipping back into my thoughts of the past. I have been struggling again recently, this time to keep my grades high enough so that I can continue studying here under scholarship. With no one to turn to about my problems, I grew desperate. Now, the glistening blue of the water is almost too tempting, like the call of a siren. Unable to resist the temptation any longer, I slipped into the water, not even bothering to put on a swimsuit.
Yes, this is the feeling. The freedom I can only find in the water, the only place I can draw comfort from.
"Why are you resisting, Rin?" A familiar voice called out to me - a voice that brought back memories of a pair of bright turquoise eyes and ice cream in the summer, a voice that definitely didn't belong to anyone here on this continent.
"Have you forgotten about our promise? Our dreams, our goals, everything?" The voice questioned me again.
"You promised that we'd stand on the Olympic podium together, receiving our medals. Have you forgotten the thrill in your heart when you reach the end of your lap and you see your name appear on the scoreboard as the winner? Why did you quit swimming, on your own dreams, on me?"
That last phrase really struck me hard. Yes, the promise we made when we were kids. I had promised Sousuke that I would swim with him all the way to the Olympics, to do our country proud as the best swimmers in the nation. How could I have forgotten that?
Why did I even quit swimming? I've always knew that I could beat Haruka, why did I let one simple failure stop me from my dreams?
Am I that pathetic of a person?
With one powerful kick, I surfaced from the water and swam to the sides. There is no way I'll run away from it anymore. I may have lost several years from my weakness but it's not too late yet.
I will return home to Japan. I will defeat Haru, once and for all, and make my way to the top, for myself, and for Sousuke too.
Even if I have to do it all alone.
-owari-
A/N: Hope you didn't hate it. Thanks for reading.