Hydrophobia

Prolouge

I relive it.

Every time I close my eyes.

I can feel it choke me as try to free from its grasp... But still, it pulls me down into its barbarous embrace.

I can't help but hate it.

And I get so angry at myself because I cry the very thing I'm afraid of:

Water.

I was little. Seven years old to be exact. I wanted to go outside. I loved to go outside and play. I was under the watch of my brothers; Raphael and Gabriel. My father was always away working, sending as much money as he could back to us. Our mom died a little after I was born. Therefore, it I was my brother's job to look after me and make sure I was safe.

Why didn't they do a better job that day?

I asked Raphael if I could go outside. He was seventeen, he was considered the adult of the house.

He said it was okay if Gabriel went along with me; to keep an eye on me. Excited, I ran up the stairs giggling like crazy. I knocked on his door, rhythmically.

"Do you want to go outside?" I practically sang. "Common let's go and play!"

And all I heard was: "Go away Cas ."

Jus like a light switch, he turned off my joy. He was only three years older. And he thought he was better than me. I got mad, and left outside anyway; never minding Raphael's orders.

We lived in a small two story house that was out in a land filled with trees. The best part about it was the lake the was right next to us. I loved it. I loved the way the water moved, and how the sunlight reflected off the surface. Any chance I could, I would go and sit at the edge of the dock, staring down to the water as it waved at me. It always made me smile.

Although, that day I decided to be daring. I wanted to touch the water. The very water that filled my heart with overflowing happiness. The water was close, so I wanted to touch it for the first time.

I just never thought it that the thing that made me so happy, would traumatize me for life.

The curious child that I was, almost touching the water... I fell in.

I didn't know how to swim.

Water filled my throat and I swung my arms everywhere, fight the crashing waves, trying to come up for air. I did, once or twice, taking those few seconds to scream for help. For my brothers. I cried, my head beginning to hurt and my vision starting to blurr.

Soon enough. I was completely underwater. I stopped fighting. I stopped moving. I felt myself slowly dropping o the bottom of the lake, looking up to the surface, catching the bit of sunlight I thought would be my last.

Before I knew it, everything went black.

I woke up to coughing and gasping for air. I was flabbergasted, wondering how the hell I got out of such a predicament. I couldn't see. My eyes were completely blurry.

But I felt someone next to me. I tried to look up to them.

"Who are you...?" I coughed.

"I saved you," The voice panted. He sounded like Gabriel. But it wasn't his voice. "You scared me, I thought you died! What were you thinking?!"

"I-I'm sorry..." I choked out more water.

He sighed. "Be careful little fish."

I rubbed my eyes again. But when I looked up, he was gone. I looked around me. No one was there.

I never knew who that person was. I never searched, I never found out, I never overheard him. I was left clueless.

Still to today, I have a common condition to many humans.

And I hate myself for it.

Because of how stupid and ironic.

I, have Hydrophobia.