(Nozomi Yoshida Is) Queen of the Swamp

Chapter 5: The End Is Just Beginning

Nozomi

Drowning is a slow, insidious process. It's not like the movies. Even though all of it happens within the span of around 120 seconds, in your mind it can feel like hours.

I sunk deeper and deeper into the water, the surrounding water getting darker shades of brown. I closed my eyes, in a part of my mind hoping this was another dream gone horribly astray.

Wake up, I pleaded to myself. Wake up. Please, for the love of God, wake up.

I opened my eyes when the pressure in my ears began to hurt. It was a pressing feeling, as if my head was slowly being crushed by the water.

The scariest thing about drowning isn't when the water enters your lungs. That's the most painful, for sure, but the most terrifying moment comes a few moments later.

Acceptance. You come to terms with the fact you're done for, the certainty that you're going to die. Your muscles release and your thoughts finish scattering. You open your eyes, watching the light from the surface disappear, and almost smile in waiting for whatever comes next, beyond this world.

I exhaled my last pocket of air from my lungs  and closed my eyes. Still holding on to Mei, I felt her give in a few moments later.

I don't know why, but I always figured that when you're about to die, you close your eyes to get it over with. Maybe it just makes it more serene, a silent admission of defeat.

But when I opened my eyes about 30 seconds later, I noticed a whooshing sound, as if I was suddenly placed inside a wind tunnel. The pain in my ears also disappeared, and it felt as if I stuck my head out of a car window. Wind blew through my hair and my face. I opened my eyes, but I didn't see anything.

From there, I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was puking water from my lungs, struggling to breathe. I was completely wet, my school uniform ruined, and my shoes were missing. It felt awful, the stinging headache, my desperation for oxygen, and I struggled to get myself into a sitting position. I heard retching next to me, and I turned to see Mei, similarly drenched, also gasping for air, unsure of the current situation we were both in.

For the afterlife, this is pretty crummy, I thought to myself. I dunno, I just thought about all those things they talk about: angels, clouds, eternal paradise. I was hoping it was true.

After vomiting some more water to the point I feel I emptied my lungs, I looked up and stared around the room. It has a sort of throwback aesthetic to it.  The walls are made of a woodwork pattern. It feels like the inside of an old shrine. On the walls are old paintings of landscapes: snow-capped mountains, sun-kissed valleys, and a wooden boat on top of what appears to be a high plateau. There's a rather ostentatious old-timey chair next to the door. I turned around to where I'm pretty sure I crawled out from. It's sort of weird, the floor gently curving down into the water like the edge of a pool. The water gently sloshes in and out, eerily. Where is that flow coming from?

Eventually, Mei stops hacking up water, but she's unable to get up. Her retching is replaced by an incessant gagging, which after about 45 seconds becomes a wheezing of sorts, trying to reclaim any and all air that she possibly can. These are definitely the sounds of suffering, and I'm powerless to help her.

In between her wheezes, I can hear her faintly whisper, "My beer."

I take off my socks, peeling them off my legs and setting them neatly on a dry patch of floor. Hopefully they can dry.

Mei also seemed to get the memo, since when I turned around, Mei had gotten herself into a seated position and took off her shoes.

"Fuck. I hate wearing wet clothes," she complains as she peels off her shirt, tossing it haphazardly to the side. It revealed a bright pink bra, almost the color of cotton candy.