Dancing, the breeze rustled through the green leafy branches of the swaying trees hunched above my head. The restless lake water slapped at the dock bored and impatient. A patch of calm water was circled about by the docks arm that bent at its elbow. The pool was riddled with “seaweed”-as we used to call it- and offered an eerie mystery to my childish mind. I imagined monster with rows of sharp teeth and slimy skin that would coil around me the instant I would touch the surface and drag me to a muddy grave. My cousin and I had trudged precariously through the pool in pursuit of a toad.
We had spotted his bulging eyes and slick yellow-green head in the midst of the moss and seaweed. Being children, we began thrashing around desperately hoping to capture the amphibian. We would dive every time it pocked its head above the surface as it taunted us with a glossy eyed stare.
Meanwhile, we didn’t have any swimsuits on so we had to be careful about not getting too wet or we knew we would get in trouble with our moms. So we continued for what felt like hours until finally, my cousin caught the evading escape artist. After stepping out of the lake, I huddled around the squishy green blob in my cousin’s hands and got to see just how ugly toads are. Lilly Pad, the name we gave it, was flabby with chubby limbs and short stub arms. Her –at least we hoped it was a her- bulging eyes looked as though they were going to pop right out of her tiny head.
After a while of poking at her and stroking her head, we decided it was time to put this ugly escapee back to its home. My cousin and I walked down the crooked dock over to the middle of the murky pool until we were facing the bank. We sat down and dangled our feet over the edge, as we said our final good byes to our temporary pet. My cousin stretched her clasped hands out closer to the water and Lilly Pad flopped out of her hands and plopped into the water with a small splash. I watched her disappear under the surface in a silent good bye. In the same moment I watched in utter disbelief and horror as my cousin tumbled into the water as if she was following Lilly Pad.
Shocked I forgot everything I ever knew about saving people, and jumped in right after her clothes and all. This -apparently- was the most logical thing to do at the time to my juvenile understanding. I tried desperately to calm her, and told her to swim to shore. I even demonstrated my words by rapidly dog paddling towards the grimy bank through the chilled eerie tangle of weeds. Only when I was safe on shore did I relies that my cousin was still flailing around screaming franticly. I watched as my Grandma and Aunt pulled her up onto the dock and calmed her down.
I looked back to see my mother pacing towards me, a look of worry and concern spread on her face. Dripping wet, I explained what happened. My mother, being the good mother she is, reprimanded me about how I shouldn’t jump in after a drowning person and how they could accidentally drown me by using you as a floatation device. All the while I though about what I could have done, I couldn’t have just sat there screaming at my cousin about how I couldn’t help her or she could drowned me! I had no choice -or so I thought- but to bravely risk my life only to end up swimming to shore by myself and having my relatives fix the situation.
I learned a very important lesson that day, one that I will never forget. And even though I might chuckle a little at my “stupid” decision I chose that day, it still helped me grow as a person. I learned that sometime you have to look at all the perspectives and lace in all possible consequences –for example the possibility of death- before you make a choice. Because eventually you are going to look back on your experiences and realize that you’ve made a lot of silly choices. But that’s what life’s all about, nearly drowning but having those people right there with you -well technically I was on the bank by then but you get the point- guiding you and trying to keep you afloat. I’m just glad I’m not swimming it alone.