Short Stories Anthology

Seafoam

The humidity of the room was unescapable, like a trap that ensnared you and enclosed around you, clinging onto every exposed patch of skin, warranting a familiarity like meandering too close to a searing light-source. In the arena, the entire vicinity was prone to the sunlight that poured in through the transparent glass panes that lined on both sides of the encompassing space, giving no room for anyone to hide.

A long expanding pool stretched miles beyond them, and to anyone's eyes, this deep and outstretching body of water must've presented as a challenging fright. This must've been especially so for a fifteen-year-old, but in the case of Yuri Otsuka, this was just a conquerable feat he was determined to see through.

The boy was the youngest amongst his peers, but lining up in a row with the rest of the contestants, he was almost a head tall, striking, and eye-catching.

"Ready ... get set ..." The words of the conductor began.

In tandem, Yuri lowered his gray-tinted goggles down to his eyes, his lean chest calmly rising up and down. Some people must've felt nervous—for this was a dream for most competitive swimmers; the dream to qualify for the country's nationals. In the surroundings, the onlookers held their breaths, as if they were the ones that were bound to dive into those depths.

The challengers took their stances on the diving board, arching their backs as the tips of their fingers briefly contacted with their toes. They all resembled elegant swans, beautiful and regal, and also quite fierce, with an atmosphere about them like they were predators preparing to pounce on a running Giselle.

Yuri could hear someone beside him murmur a Buddhist verse to themself, probably attempting to calm their nerves. However, Yuri thought quite lowly of that—if you weren't confident in your ability, to have to borrow the external help of another being, then why compete at all? In this world, there was nothing more reliable than your own body, and to rely on the power of others to attain your ambitions, was a sign of betraying one's own efforts and personal hardships.

"... Go!" As soon as this singular yell resonated, a piercing whistle pierced through the air. Instinctively, all aligned contestants dove into the water.

At first, a row of white bodies, separated by loosely floating conjoined red ropes, swam in unison. It was difficult to tell at that point who was going to win, but let a few seconds passed, and on the wide digital screen that captured the entirety of the considerably large swimming pool, one lone body overtook the rest and swept through the waves with a terrifying pace.

Like an intrinsic creature of the sea, a beautiful mermaid that raced against the setting sun, this person's elongated limbs carried him ahead swiftly with grace and regality.

The announcer in the back cheered with a voice heavy with excitement, "Yuri Otsuka takes the lead, swimming ahead at an astonishing speed! Oh my, he's slowly closing in on the finishing line.. Can Yuri make it!?.."

By then, there was already too large of a gap between that single person and the rest of the swimmers. The outcome of this competition was already predetermined, and the bystanders could only look on with gaping mouths and bated breaths. The entire landscape had fallen into an eerie silence, with only the vigorous sounds of splashing water reverberating throughout the hollow ceiling.

"He's doing it.." The announcer spoke quietly into the microphone with a frail breath.

"Yuri Ostuka... he's..."

The two words that seemed to resonate upon the minds of all watchers alike. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. This young boy was a monster, a terrifying swift monster of the waters.

Slowly, the entire axis of the world seemed to momentarily still as that pale body raced forward, two hands overlapping each other, penetrating through the pool like a knife through paper.