Apollo

three.

As I plunged into the waters, I felt it caress me. If indeed there was magic, it was in this lake, in this moment.

I descended deeper allowing the waters to swallow me whole disconnecting me from reality. I have never been more at peace, never felt this bliss. Probably, the only other place I have felt this serene is my room at dawn just before the sun rises.

I opened my eyes, not minding the pain, to catch sight of the world underneath which was full of life and beauty, more than what the present has to offer. I could feel the emotions, the tears that have become these waters, the pain that has been drowned, the happiness that flows together with the echoes of nature.

Slowly, I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by the calming feeling of being underwater. I was ready to give in, to be a part of it, when suddenly, I was pulled upward and the light from the sun greeted me.

"What the fuck are you trying to do?" Polo bellowed as soon as we were above water.

"I was having my moment of peace." I said with a hint of annoyance. "You just had to interfere!"

"The only peace you were getting at is 'rest in peace'. I'm not sorry for delaying your imminent death."

I tried to swim away from him but he forcefully pulled me back to face him.

"I did not bring you here so you could drown yourself." He stated. He held my elbow firmly so I wouldn't try to escape again.

I laughed. "Why would I want to drown myself?" I asked him curiously. "Do I strike you as depressed?"

"One can never really tell." He looked at me seriously. His eyes were speaking to me in ways words cannot. His gaze lingered on me as he examined my face. I gave him a small smile of assurance.

"I'm not." I added to convince him. "Now, why don't you come with me instead of overthinking?" He looked at me as if he were debating with himself.

"Thoughts could just as easily drown you as water." I told him. "And right now, you're thinking of me too much." I gave him a wink just before I quickly submerged into the water.

Moments later, he followed. He was intently looking at me with amusement as he shook his head. I reached out to him to touch his face. He was surprised by the sudden contact, I could tell by his abrupt movement.

He felt stiff but as soon as he eased, I closed my eyes, feeling everything all at once. We stayed underwater for a while before we came back up. I smiled at him.

"Did that feel like drowning to you?" I asked him. He shook his head. "I thought so."

There's something peaceful about surrendering yourself to what is, to things we can't control, just like these waters. Being underwater can be therapeutic, just like being confined by the elements of nature, mountains, trees, plains, valleys. To be engulfed in such wonder is glorious.

Sometimes, it is when we hold our breath and stop resisting, stop fighting, that we can feel most alive. Sometimes, we think too hard, we can't even think right. We fight too hard, we lose sight of what we're actually fighting for.

"What makes you like being underwater so much?" He asked me. "There's beauty, yes, but there's also danger."

"Isn't that what life is exactly?" I answered as I touched the waters with my fingers.

We were sitting in a small canoe. We remained in the middle of the lake contented with watching the surroundings and feeling the waters with our fingertips.

I was wearing my black floral dress again which I had to take off when we went swimming. Polo, on the other hand, just wore his dress shirt with the first buttons opened.