Suddenly he was falling. He hit the ground, rolled, tried to grab onto something to stop himself. It was no use. There was only grass and rocks, and he was rolling far to fast to catch either.
Through the dizzying spin of his fall, he barely registered when the ground disappeared and was replaced with a large expanse of water. Then, with a splash, he was submerged and sinking fast.
He panicked, willing himself to swim, but found that his limbs would not obey. His entire body tingled, as if it had gone to sleep. In the darkness, he couldn't tell which way was up, and he could no longer feel which way he was falling.
Fear filled him. After years of living near and working in the sea, he had never been afraid. Now the thing he loved most was trying to kill him.
He struggled to hold his breath. If he could just hold on, he might surface. Hope was all he had as his lungs burst with pain.
The memory of Mary's face returned, haunting him. That might be the last time they ever saw each other, and he had left her weeping. Overwhelming remorse flooded him as his lungs finally gave up and he inhaled water.
The pain in his lungs, instead of intensifying, suddenly stopped. He had read that drowning was a horrific painful way to die, but he felt nothing but a pleasant warmth that spread from his chest outward. The tingling in his body stopped as the wave of warmth washed over him.
Several moments passed, and the warmth continued to spread. Fleetingly he wondered if his dying mind were playing tricks on him. Usually people described death as seeing a bright light, but he was in complete darkness, with the increasing warm feeling his only sensation.
Then, as quickly as it had left, he could feel again. He felt the water as it swirled around him, and realized he'd hit the bottom of whatever body of water he was in. He tried to kick himself toward the surface with his legs, but they seemed stuck somehow. Frustrated, he pulled with his arms, and whipped his legs as best he could. After several minutes of trying, he gained momentum, pushing away from the bottom.
Despite the strange paralysis of his legs, he felt surprisingly well considering how long he'd gone without breathing. A rational voice in the back of his mind told him he must be hallucinating, but he kept struggling upward. He had to continue hoping, or he would go insane in this deep, watery darkness.
Through the dizzying spin of his fall, he barely registered when the ground disappeared and was replaced with a large expanse of water. Then, with a splash, he was submerged and sinking fast.
He panicked, willing himself to swim, but found that his limbs would not obey. His entire body tingled, as if it had gone to sleep. In the darkness, he couldn't tell which way was up, and he could no longer feel which way he was falling.
Fear filled him. After years of living near and working in the sea, he had never been afraid. Now the thing he loved most was trying to kill him.
He struggled to hold his breath. If he could just hold on, he might surface. Hope was all he had as his lungs burst with pain.
The memory of Mary's face returned, haunting him. That might be the last time they ever saw each other, and he had left her weeping. Overwhelming remorse flooded him as his lungs finally gave up and he inhaled water.
The pain in his lungs, instead of intensifying, suddenly stopped. He had read that drowning was a horrific painful way to die, but he felt nothing but a pleasant warmth that spread from his chest outward. The tingling in his body stopped as the wave of warmth washed over him.
Several moments passed, and the warmth continued to spread. Fleetingly he wondered if his dying mind were playing tricks on him. Usually people described death as seeing a bright light, but he was in complete darkness, with the increasing warm feeling his only sensation.
Then, as quickly as it had left, he could feel again. He felt the water as it swirled around him, and realized he'd hit the bottom of whatever body of water he was in. He tried to kick himself toward the surface with his legs, but they seemed stuck somehow. Frustrated, he pulled with his arms, and whipped his legs as best he could. After several minutes of trying, he gained momentum, pushing away from the bottom.
Despite the strange paralysis of his legs, he felt surprisingly well considering how long he'd gone without breathing. A rational voice in the back of his mind told him he must be hallucinating, but he kept struggling upward. He had to continue hoping, or he would go insane in this deep, watery darkness.
