JUNE (Creative)
June and I swam out to the reef on a winter’s day. The waves were massive, but June was an excellent swimmer and she convinced me it would be fun. She was older and very unpredictable. We challenged each other to dive deeper, to swim further onto the reef. June was winning. She called me coward and roused that I was too scared to touch the reef. She pushed me and mocked me until I couldn’t take it anymore. I timed it perfectly between the sets, and swam over to the shallow reef. I guess I stayed down there a while because before I knew it, a wave had sneaked up on me.
Deep. Dark. Drowning. I opened my eyes and felt the sharp sting of salt while I scanned through the sizzling black ocean. I thought I’d got off easy as I began …show more content…
In fact, it seemed as though everything stopped. In a second, I had hit a sharp protruding part of the reef, and I understood right then that I had been paralyzed. My brain began to turn off, and I let it. I did not think of my family or June, like you’re supposed to. I just, died.
I woke up in a hospital bed a month later. I could tell my mom had been crying. Dr. Reed told me I had been in a coma and they hadn't known when I was going to wake up. I moved my limbs weakly and a massive sense of relief washed over me. The Doctor remarked that I was a lucky boy, and explained that a nerve ending in my neck had been nicked. One millimeter deeper and the temporary paralysis that I experienced would have been permanent quadriplegia. I wondered if my mom had given up on me. I wondered why she was still crying sad tears. I asked for June and she cried harder.
I found out from my dad that June had committed suicide. She believed I would never wake up, as did the Doctors on my case. She couldn't stand living with the thought that she had killed me. I wished she hadn’t done that, because as I thought of June and her family, I suffered in a way that felt as though I was drowning all over again. Only this time it was much worse - this time I knew the agony would never
June and I swam out to the reef on a winter’s day. The waves were massive, but June was an excellent swimmer and she convinced me it would be fun. She was older and very unpredictable. We challenged each other to dive deeper, to swim further onto the reef. June was winning. She called me coward and roused that I was too scared to touch the reef. She pushed me and mocked me until I couldn’t take it anymore. I timed it perfectly between the sets, and swam over to the shallow reef. I guess I stayed down there a while because before I knew it, a wave had sneaked up on me.
Deep. Dark. Drowning. I opened my eyes and felt the sharp sting of salt while I scanned through the sizzling black ocean. I thought I’d got off easy as I began …show more content…
In fact, it seemed as though everything stopped. In a second, I had hit a sharp protruding part of the reef, and I understood right then that I had been paralyzed. My brain began to turn off, and I let it. I did not think of my family or June, like you’re supposed to. I just, died.
I woke up in a hospital bed a month later. I could tell my mom had been crying. Dr. Reed told me I had been in a coma and they hadn't known when I was going to wake up. I moved my limbs weakly and a massive sense of relief washed over me. The Doctor remarked that I was a lucky boy, and explained that a nerve ending in my neck had been nicked. One millimeter deeper and the temporary paralysis that I experienced would have been permanent quadriplegia. I wondered if my mom had given up on me. I wondered why she was still crying sad tears. I asked for June and she cried harder.
I found out from my dad that June had committed suicide. She believed I would never wake up, as did the Doctors on my case. She couldn't stand living with the thought that she had killed me. I wished she hadn’t done that, because as I thought of June and her family, I suffered in a way that felt as though I was drowning all over again. Only this time it was much worse - this time I knew the agony would never