It wasn't abnormal in any way. At least… I don't think so. Being run off of a cliff and into the black churning ocean below will do that. My fear is completely rational. However, when my second year of middle school came along, and I was expected to swim, well… Let's say it didn't end well. To tell the truth, I was completely and utterly terrified.
Flashbacks came in waves, like a bad slideshow, frame by frame. Mother driving, Duran howling. Myself screaming, and the ultimate crash to the salt water. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground sobbing. Everyone was around me, crowding me, suffocating me. I had to go somewhere, anywhere that wasn't near water or people. The teacher, the students, everyone was saying something different; the words were blending together, into one huge mess. Garbled sounds and syllables meshing together, everything was just so loud. I think I was screaming, but I never was completely sure, and I wasn't about to ask someone. The glistening clear water of the school pool was so different from the black salty ocean from so long ago, but the dangers were the same in my mind.
Water was the embodiment of Death.
Death stole my mother and best friend from me.
Death was in front of me, looking as innocent as a glass of water.
Maybe my fear is irrational, but I'll never be so trusting again.
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