Tevun-Krus #106 - Best of '22

The Longest Commercial in the World - A Peace Story by @EvelynHail

The Longest Commercial in the World

by EvelynHail

After a busy and as-per-usual ordinary day at the office, I decide to release my stress by swimming a little.

I get into my car, the same car I have had for years, listen to some chillaxing blues, and head to a Coral Gables Venetian Pool.

When I arrive, the place is a little lonely. And no wonder, when a polar vortex strikes people avoid going out because of the surrounding cold.

There have never been two vortices on the same day, but people become a little paranoid because since 2020 they have not been occurring so often and prefer to stay at home.

At the edge of the pool, I check the water temperature, adjust my cap, and my goggles that tell me speed, heart rate, calorie consumption and proximity to the edge. I jump in, breaking the water, feeling its warmth that gives me tranquility. I choose the freestyle. Swimming makes me feel like I have magical powers. I feel like flying. It is a magnificent experience.

After getting to the other end, I turn around and switch to butterfly style. When I arrive to the middle of the pool, the goggles show me the distance of my competitor. I assume that someone else has jumped into the pool, but I do not see them, as I am focused on beating my own record.

I make reminiscences of my old and nonexistent competitions. When I get to the edge and with accelerated breathing, I take off my cap.

Suddenly something yanks me by the legs, dragging me to the depths. I try to wriggle myself out of the pull, and see what has caught me. It frees me and starts swimming around me and I can't believe my eyes.

It's a sexy semi-naked girl in blue trikini. Her hair is long and blonde, her ears are pointed, her hands and feet are webbed. She swims at high speed and approaches me with a mocking smile. I try to swim to the surface but she stops me. She holds me tightly by my legs taking me to the deep at high speed.

After a few kicks, I smack her in the face. She promptly lets me go and I manage to reach the surface sucking in some air. I start to swim to the edge and just when I try to get out of the pool, I feel the flesh of my right thigh tearing.

It is an impressive pain. The water starts to turn red. The creature emerges almost flying from the water and holds my head, dragging me to the bottom.

I can't take it anymore.

This creature treats me as its prey, it has tired me and now it is trying to suffocate me. It grips my shoulders tightly, it looks at me ecstatically with its big eyes, black like onyx. I make a last attempt to free myself but it is useless.

The only thing that protects me from the attack of this creature is my white speedo and my ability to swim, that is to say — nothing.

No matter how hard I hit the creature, it doesn't let go of me. It is stronger and more skilled underwater than me. I start to feel a strong burning in my chest and I can no longer breathe. My humanity is being extinguished, when suddenly the creature's grasp relents.

Something shiny and metallic sprouts from its chest, leaving it immobile and bleeding.

I can't take it anymore and I lose consciousness.

***

I feel something cold on my back. It is the floor of the pool.

I feel another mouth on my mouth, and I see drops of water dripping from crimson strands of hair. Everything is blurry. When I come to my senses, I realize a stunning woman in her thirties, robust, with shamrock-green eyes, has rescued me.