Panicking, Wayne flapped his arms and tried to remember what the swimming instructor had said in school. He tried to keep calm.
Camila stood in shock of the event, eyes wide as she stared at the flailing figure in the lake. Her childhood fears tugged at her gut and every part of her screamed to stay away from having the same fate as Wayne.
But she could not, would not lose her best friend to the trenches. Not even if it meant that she had to dive into the water with him.
Camila jumped into action. She took off her shoes (they would weigh her down), and plunged into the water after her best friend. The lake creeped into her dress, dragging her down. Camila dared to open her eyes and spotted Wayne a little ways away. She breast-stroked towards him and caught him as he let out a final bubble of breath. Pulling both of them up, she kicked frantically, gaining elevation.
Suddenly, Camila shivered. again she thought of the cold, dark waters. Tired and out of breath, she thought of how far the surface was and how nice it would be to rest, just for a moment...
That was when Wayne prodded her with his elbow, took hold of her hand, and dragged her upwards. Camila fell out of her daze. Together, they treaded the water, hands joint and hearts racing.
They broke free of the water's grasp, coughing and struggling to keep from going back down again. Wayne reached the land first and pulled Camila out of the water along with him. No one spoke for a full minute as they both caught their breath.
"You did it, Camila," Wayne said, "you saved me. Thank you."
Camila smiled, "You owe me, idiot. But I also owe you. Without you dragging me on these adventures, I never would have gotten over my aquaphobia."
Much to her surprise, he pulled her into a warm, but very wet embrace.
Both thought about today's adventure as they waddled home in their sopping wet clothes. The butterfly was forgotten.
~~~
Whew! Editing that took a while. Comment down your irrational phobias :}
~welancholy
YOU ARE READING
a series of short stories
Short Story~collection of the stupid short stories I've written while procrastinating on very important things ~message me if u have an idea/prompt for another one and feel free to call me out on my many mistakes ~enjoy!
