Phobia - Beneath Still Waters

I used to believe the ocean was calm, like a sleeping beast.

But that was before it woke up inside me.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXwGYl5ANo

My name is Eli. I’ve never gone near deep water since I was six.

My earliest memory is of drowning but they said it never happened.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0AX5B099wv

“You just panicked,” my mother once whispered, brushing my hair away from my soaked face.

“There was no deep end, Eli.”

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKxIJyXv4E

But I remember the silence.

The way the water swallowed sound.

The way it clung to my skin like a living thing.

The cold hands pulling me down.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwukUT4eza

Since then, I avoided pools, lakes, oceans even bathtubs when I was young.

I’d shower with the door open.

And whenever it rained too hard, I’d tremble.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpL725bq4TI

My friends called me names behind my back.

Coward. Mermaid boy. Shark bait.

I smiled. Let them laugh.

Better to be afraid than to be dead.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0TXEltBei

But last summer, everything changed.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6R8Tiyd7zX

My uncle, a marine biologist, invited me on a trip to Zanzibar.

“Sun, peace, and a little ocean adventure,” he said.

He didn’t know about the fear. I never told him.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgKWjioNL7

The hotel was perfect right by the water.

But every wave sounded like a warning.

Every splash felt personal.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUiRGT2Iu4J

Then came the worst day.

Uncle signed us up for a reef dive.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1YXKNTjlt

My body went numb. I considered faking illness fever, food poisoning, anything.

But something inside me was tired.

Tired of running.

Tired of being owned by a shadow.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHlxtraseF

So, I said yes.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLRiwPeb73

That night, I barely slept.

I stared at the ceiling, heart pounding, hands trembling.

In my dreams, I was back underwater choking, screaming, sinking.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jota982ul

The next morning, the boat was waiting.

I moved like a puppet.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwM9piCj4L8

The instructor handed me a wetsuit. “First time?”

I nodded.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FbnbzQyTJ

“Don’t worry,” she smiled. “You’ll love it.”

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDemotKE8f

I didn’t answer. My mouth was dry. My skin itched.

The mask. The tank. The regulator.

All of it felt like chains.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVr6FQKMp4

I stood at the edge of the boat, staring into the vast blue.

It looked endless.

It looked hungry.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbKr9VHKQZ

I jumped.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwchD7Ixt7

The water wrapped around me like a ghost from my past.

It was cold.

Too cold.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qo3lAGHL1

Panic rose.

My vision blurred.

I forgot to breathe.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEIMyf2ZFr

Then I heard her voice the instructor through the earpiece.

“Breathe, Eli. In. Out. Slowly.”

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOcEp9tnX9

I tried.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdfSBkhnwi

One breath. Two. Three.

My lungs remembered.

My heartbeat slowed.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOC9jR7lVG4

Down we went.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ94lfvyozQ

Ten feet.

Twenty.

Thirty.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqoFafMUAW

Coral gardens appeared.

Colorful fish danced around us like spirits.

A turtle floated by, majestic and slow.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15uCJvKatR

My fear was still there.

But something else grew inside me wonder.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAgvCLvCyB

Then… I saw it.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsW3YNLY9v7

A shadow.

Human-shaped.

Floating.

Facing me.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqz2W5t0nuE

Eyes wide. Face pale.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHaicMwmkXb

It was… me.

But younger.

Six-year-old Eli.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEHtolNeRn

I froze.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLA1gaWEcHY

He didn’t move.

Just stared.

Accusing.

Afraid.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvFZLxMIJU

I swam forward, slowly.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6nsx0uQxJ

My hand reached out — trembling — toward my younger self.

He blinked. Then… smiled.

And vanished.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6oQrP4RHU

I surfaced, gasping.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUv10ia8kvA

The sky was bright.

The waves gentle.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gPmDnZv3D

My uncle called out. “You okay?”

I nodded.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExqe3gyUH6

But I wasn’t just okay.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYsgrsHSbv

I was new.

Reborn.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRl93TUp6R

That night, I dreamed of water again.

But this time, I wasn’t drowning.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmliT030nAI

I was swimming.

115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7ofCXJAEp

ns216.73.216.206da2

介面主題:

字體大小:

行距:

段距:

自動加載下一章