The light at the end of the Tunnel (5)

The pool had two ends, one shallow and the other deep. Only one of which was being used, Vincent and Johnathan were playing in the deep end. A location one would not expect a two year old to be playing in. Johnathan had been thought to swim without his feet touching the ground.

Sofia had been standing near the deepest section of the water unknowingly, where the depth of the pool was 18 ft. She was standing right at the edge as well where even the lightest imbalance could lead to a fall. Now add on to it a pull downwards and it was the perfect recipe for disaster.

Johnathan had noticed Sofia coming towards them the minute she entered the pool area. He was expecting her to join them but when she stopped right at the edge, he called out to her. "Auntie. Auntie Sofia." No calling would get her attention, so the next round included a slight pull of her bikini cover up in order to obtain a reaction.

Sofia falling into the pool happened in slow motion for both the victim and the culprit. The worst way to fall into water was going face first. That was the first lesson Johnathan had been thought, and experiencing it multiple times himself on top of it had conformed that point.

....

Sofia had been in her own world. Coming back to the real world was nothing short of a nightmare. She was falling into the water face first. No matter what command her brain tried deliver, her body was not listening, she had gone into shock.

Having a private beach in your backyard, one would be expected to know how to swim. But in Sofia's case, she was thought how to swim but had not stepped a foot in a pool of the ocean after the age of 10.

The closer she got to the waters surface, the darker everything in her view became. She was loosing consciousness, traveling to her past trauma.

She thrashing inside an invisible prison, air being sucked out of her lungs and in its place salty seawater gushed in. Every breath short and agonizingly painful, with each intake the pain grew. As her vision darkened, the pain in her chest was becoming unbearable. Thrusting her limbs in hope of reaching the surface, for all she knew she was dragging herself deeper in. As the last of her strength gave way, she knew that was it for her, there was no way she could get herself out of this situation.

At the end of the memory, right before everything turned black, she felt a warm touch on her body. Dragging out of the dark and lonely prison, and into the light.

With her vision hazy, she saw a dark stiletto before her due to the bright sunlight located behind it. Right before everything turned dark again, she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Sofia!"