Aquaphobia

I'm scared of the pool, and it's hard to explain why.

For many, it's easy enough- hell, for some, it's quite the jump just getting in the pool in the first place. Either way, the pool is scary for many. Deep ends that seem to disappear into the abyss; the feeling of the ground slipping away as you move further down, leaving you struggling to keep your face above water; the terrifying feeling that you'll swim into a wall and crack your head open, red blood mixing with blue water.

But I'm scared of the pool, and it's hard to explain why.

For some, swimming can be something they find annoying. Having to deal with dry, itchy skin every time you leave the water; having to wash out your hair because otherwise you'll essentially ruin it; having water get into your ears and leave your ears clogged for hours, maybe days on end. It makes you just not want to swim in the first place.

But I'm scared of the pool, and it's hard to explain why.

Maybe it's not just the pool, either. The ocean is a scary place to be, too. Being stranded at sea, not knowing which direction is which, and likely dying stranded from all civilization; being in the ocean one day and feeling a shark's teeth clamp around your ankle, dragging you to the depths of the ocean in an instant; knowing how much of the ocean has even been completely discovered just yet. Did you know that the "5% of the ocean has been explored" fact is a myth? It's actually 7%.

But I'm scared of the pool, and it's hard to explain why.

Swimming can be a complex task for some. Not for me, though. I used to love the pool until just now.

Because there's something in the water, right underneath me, staring at me. I'm in the middle of the deep end, and I'm afraid to move from my spot or even look away from it. Judging from how quickly my friends vanished, it'd outrun me in an instant.

I'm not scared of getting in the pool. I'm scared of getting out.

And I'm scared of how much longer I can keep treading water before I sink.