Natasha Romanoff: Killer of men, Lover of women

8

When I got to the pool, it was virtually empty, just what I wanted. I went to the deep end, diving in and letting the cool water surround me.

My achy muscles instantly eased in the fresh water, loosening up as I began to swim lengths of the pool.

I varied my strokes to target different muscles and to work both my aerobic and anaerobic fitness.

After my workout, I decided to just float off into the deep end. I ducked my head under the water and swam to the bottom of the pool, letting the water surround me like a comforting blanket.

It was pretty deep, probably 2 metres or so down. I liked it underwater, everything was so quiet and the water pressure squeezed me from all sides, calming my anxiety like a tight hug.

It was like a peaceful meditation. I was someone who needed her quiet time. When I was younger, my quiet time was at night. I was an insomniac so would sit and think and relax in the peace and quiet of the night.

I found comfort in the darkness, feeling relaxed and calm, knowing that everyone else was peacefully sleeping. Sometimes I wished I could sleep too, to relax my mind as well as my soul, but I figured it was the only quiet time I could get, and my mind could sometimes be stronger than my soul.

I didn't get much quiet time anymore, forcing myself to sleep so that I'd have energy for my work, so being underwater was a great way for me to clear my head with everything that was going on.

I'm not stupid, I wasn't gonna drown myself. So when I started to feel lightheaded and my vision started to blur, I decided it was time to breathe again.

I kicked off from the bottom but the surface seemed much further away than I thought. My lungs started to burn as I kicked my way closer and closer to the surface, until...

I had to stop kicking, I simply didn't have the energy anymore, my mind going foggy as I began to sink back down to the bottom.

The average human can hold their breath for about 3-5 minutes. I myself, exceeded that regularly by 5 minutes, usually becoming light headed by the 8 minute mark.

As one drowns, plunging deeper below the surface, the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood increases dramatically, poisoning you. While this happens, the amount of oxygen drops significantly, being used as energy to keep you alive. And when the ratio becomes too great, the desperate need to take a breath becomes all too much.

In the first breath, huge amounts of water are inhaled. As the water reaches your airway, the larynx usually closes, preventing water from reaching the lungs. You will soon begin to lose consciousness. The muscles eventually relax, allowing water to enter the lungs, causing the alveoli to collapse and preventing oxygen from being diffused into the tissues and from reaching the vital organs.

The organs begin to fail and as the heart does, it stops, leaving you dead, surrounded by water, the thing that murdered you.

My eyelids began to flutter closed as I fought with myself not to take a breath, knowing that would trigger the end of it all.

How could I have let this happen?

I forced my eyes open one last time, seeing glowing purple coming towards me. I closed them again as I felt strong arms grip me tightly around my waist.

I felt chills surround my body as I was pulled out of the water and carefully placed on the ground.

Keeping my eyes shut, I parted my lips to breathe but no air came in. I'd inhaled too much water.

I felt something warm touch my lips, blowing air into my lungs, filling them up. They did this two more times, their lips feeling plump and soft against mine.