The time to move had approached yet again. We were now moving to a very beautiful city, Bangalore, India.
Every morning I would find flowers fallen on the windshield of our car, dewdrops slipping down the petals ever so slightly as if the time had slowed down just for this event. I would shake the branches of the plant and dewdrops would fall like a splash of water leaving their cooling effect on my skin. The mornings were mesmerizing. From exploring the narrow streets on foot to driving our car to the big malls, we enjoyed everything about this place.
It was here that I overcame my fear of swimming. A few years ago my mom thought it was a good idea to send me for swimming lessons. The first three days were fine I guess. I don’t remember them clearly. But the fourth day is still imprinted on my memory. My coach asked me to step out of the 5ft area of the pool along with the other kids who had been getting the lessons for a while now. He made us stand in a line near the diving board. This area of the pool was 10ft deep. One by one he asked everyone to jump. I was terrified. When it was my turn to jump I refused. He insisted while I pleaded. Succumbing to the situation I jumped.
I couldn’t open my eyes in the water. I was scared the water might get into them. This made it difficult for me to find my way. I kept pushing the water away from me yet I was getting nowhere. I tried to scream. No one could hear me. I was losing control. I couldn’t breathe. I tried to open my eyes and it hurt. It was dark. I could feel my heartbeat racing every second. I thought I was going to drown and just then I felt something. It was someone’s foot. I caught it so tightly like my life depended on it. Maybe it did. And slowly I was moving upwards. I could see light penetrating through the dark. A few more seconds and I would be fine.
I tore through the water and caught the handle on the side. Everything seemed a little blurry. Slowly I realized it was my coach’s foot that helped me come up. She instructed me to come out using the side ladder. I was burning with rage inside. More than that I was getting consumed by the fear of getting into a deep pool again.
After coming to Bangalore, I would swim for leisure with my sister. While she enjoyed the baby pool I enjoyed the bigger pool connected with it. Soon I met the swimming coach who observed me in the shallow region of the pool and gave me little tips and tricks to get better at swimming. He didn’t push me. Instead chose to give me time to get better on my own. Within a few weeks, I was testing myself in the deeper region of the pool. It did scare me at first but soon I got better and became one of the coach’s best students. I became so comfortable swimming in 12ft I would make up my own games and test my skills further. I’m glad he found me or I found him. Either way, he was one of the best teachers in my life.
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