MARIEL

12~ The Diving Board ~

Sunday, February 9th, 2020 - Chicago, IL

Water exploded into the air. Waves rose and slapped the surface. A brown-haired boy re-emerged and gasped for air.

Ahdam watched. He'd been watching since that boy leapt from the diving board. It stood very high above the pool. The idea of that plunge terrified him, and he could not understand why someone would jump. Ahdam thought of the helicopters, the whirring sounds, the deadly height as the machines circled that village like buzzards.

Idly, he sat at the edge of the indoor pool, swinging his feet back and forth in the water. Multiple televisions flashed and flickered throughout the pool room. A reporter stiffly sat in a burgundy suit and spoke loudly through the largest television screen about a deadly car accident.

Ahdam watched as the brown-haired boy held his nose and dove back into the blue depths. The water was warm on Ahdam's feet. He sat in his black swimming trunks, appreciating the humidity and warmth of the chlorinated pool room.

'Law enforcement is still investigating the scene,' the reporter said.

This was his first time submerging his feet into a pool like this. He'd only ever swam in man-made pools and ponds in his village. That water had been brown. This water was a deep blue. It looked clean. It looked fun. But, he did not want to enter. Experiencing anything new in this facility with the White Coats frightened him. He still did not trust the White Coats. He did not think Adela did either because, whenever they entered the room, her smile went away and her eyebrows came closer together.

"Ahdam." Adela knelt beside him. "Why are you not swimming?" She spoke in Arabic.

Ahdam Kaseem swished his feet around the water and shrugged. The water still sloshed in response to the other boy leaping from the dive board. Ahdam did not like telling Adela that he was afraid. He wanted her to be proud of his strength, his confidence. He wanted to exhibit the same strengths like his father, Haleef. Thinking of his father, he felt tears sting his eyes. He thought of his father, his mother, and the mysterious little village he'd destroyed by force of the military men.

Had that been his people?

"I want you to have fun when you're out of your room. Try it?" Adela squeezed his hand. "I'll be here to cheer you on."

He wanted her to swim with him. Ahdam looked at Adela, pointed to her, and then pointed to himself. He knew she would understand what he was requesting.

Laughing, Adela shook her head. "I can't swim tonight, Ahdam, I'm sorry. Maybe some other time? I'll arrange a time to swim, or play basketball with you, but only if you try going for a swim. I know you can."

The brown-haired boy slapped the water. "Yeah, dude, come in the water! No point in a pool if you don't swim in it!" He dove underwater again and flopped beneath the surface like a fish.

Suddenly, Ahdam felt proud. He understood most of the English words. Not all of them. Not 'dude'. But, he knew the boy was encouraging him to come in the water and, with that knowledge, Ahdam felt a quiver of a smile on his lips. The last time he'd associated with another human being in a playful manner had been with the green-eyed, Angel-demon. Ahdam wondered if he would ever see her again.

Ahdam stood. He looked down at Adela, who still knelt. Her smile was big, like she was very happy about something much more than Ahdam's decision to swim. Smiling back, Ahdam jumped from the cement floor. This height was doable.

The water roared in his ears. Every sound above him muffled as he felt the water swarm his body. Steadily, he sank, his eyes squeezed shut, and then he opened them. Steadily, he flapped his arms upwards, driving himself further towards the blue bottom.