The Little Mermaid: Swimming Free [Free! Iwatobi Swim Club Fan Fiction]

Who Am I?

As a child, before I ever knew what swimming was, 

there was something in me where I was always searching for something, 

something that was bigger than me, 

something so magical that I could be part of.

I did not find that until I stepped into the swimming world,

and it was amazing.

The feeling of being a part of something that is bigger than you.

* * *

As I came up from the water, gasping for air, droplets of water ran down my face, I looked around, I practically drowned myself in my own bathtub, hard to believe right? Also hard to believe I had been laying in the cold water for an hour instead of the ocean where I thought I was.

But that is just how I was, it is not like I could control myself when it came to water, once it touched my skin all my senses were taken over like I was a different person or some magical sea creature - a mermaid.

I laughed at the thought, when I was little I was called a mermaid, the way I swam through the water so graceful and poised only to come out of the water and be clumsy, tripping over my own feet. People always wondered if I was actually a real mermaid since 'nobody on this whole wide world could be like me'. 

For a long time I thought the same way, was there anybody who understood me and my love for the water? I doubt it, not even my own twin brother understood me, he always thought it was weird how I could stand in the rain and be completely content.

My brother, someone who abandoned me four years ago to train in Australia, just like me he loved the water, loved you say? Well I have not actually spoken to him in those four years so I was not entirely sure what he was even doing anymore.

As I got out of the bathtub I started to dry myself, getting ready for school. Putting on my blouse and skirt, I looked over at my bookshelf.

Full of swimming trophies and awards, swimming to me was never about winning or glory, I just loved the feeling of it, but that was just a faded memory. I retired at only thirteen years old, promising never to swim again so my bathtub was my only comfort, pathetic really. I was considered a swimming prodigy at a young age, a hopeful for an Olympic team even, but that is not who I am.

As I put my school shoes on and walked out the door, the sun was blinding, ready for my first day as a second year high school student. 

As I walked outside, I noticed a familiar figure leaning against my fence; Makoto Tachibana, as he turned around he smiled.

"Good morning," he said waving towards me.

This is it, I thought. My first day of my second year had already arrived.

* * *

NEXT CHAPTER: OUR FIRST DAY AGAIN