Slowly, I step onto the back patio of the house, toward thespacious back garden. I look to the left and chuckle when I catch sight of Aiden still looking for a place to hide.
It looks like he can't decide whether he should enter the house again through another door or hide behind the plants.
He snaps his head around as he keeps searching for the perfect spot, stepping backward, not realizing that he's stepping back toward the swimming pool.
My heart almost stops, my eyes wide in fear. "Aiden!" I shout.
But it's too late. Aiden falls back into the water. It splashes as he vanishes underneath it. I feel like my chest is about to explode, my legs shaking as I run toward the swimming pool.
Without thinking further, I jump into it. The cold water attacks my skin, and as my feet touch the bottom, adrenaline rushes through me.
Panic consumes me as I snap my head around in the water, focusing on Aiden. He looks like he’s in pain—gasping, punching and kicking in every direction under the water.
I feel like I'm going to die. With all the energy I have in my body, I push myself toward him and pull him up. A loud gasp escapes from my mouth as we appear at the surface, but I still have to drag him to the edge of the pool.
Ms. Langston screams, finding both of us floating in the water. She must have heard the chaos just now.
"Come here! Quick!" she urges.
And that's when I suddenly can't feel my leg. It feels numb, and I can't move it.
Oh, God. It's a cramp.
Maybe it happened because I was moving with so much force so suddenly. I feel like I'm about to go down in the water again, dragging Aiden along with me.
But I can't let that happen. I have to save him.
I've never been so scared in my entire life. Even though my leg can hardly move, and I'm carrying an unconscious Aiden with difficulty, I still force myself toward the edge of the pool.
It feels like I'm struggling between life and death, but it's not because I'm dying. It's because I can't let Aiden die.
Ms. Langston keeps shouting at me, expecting us to reach her in no time—I don't think she realizes what's happening.
I have to save him. Please, God, let him be okay.
I don't know how it happens—it feels like a miracle—but despite the cramps in my legs, I manage to get closer to the edge and push Aiden toward Ms. Langston even though the pain in every muscle of my body is unbearable.
Ms. Langston catches him, crying as she shouts his name, her attention solely focused on him. That's when the cramps attack me a thousand times more powerful than before, and I gasp as I sink into the water.
I choke, feeling the water getting into my respiratory system, and it hurts like hell. I'm drowning, and the fact that the water is quite deep frightens me even more.
I shoot my hand toward the wall of the swimming pool. It's just a little bit more. I just have to reach it and climb onto it.
But I can't, my body falling deeper toward the bottom.
While my head feels like it’s being attacked by a thousand needles, a voice suddenly echoes in it.
Please, save him. I don't care about myself, but please, save him. Please save this little life.
Then the needles are replaced by an even more powerful force, like a hammer. A silent scream fills my lungs as the air I need to breathe doesn't exist anymore.
My throat hurts to the core, my chest crushed with extreme pressure.
I've heard these voices before. It's like I'm experiencing the same hell all over again. I can't stand the pain. I can't.
It's too painful. I feel like dying.
Please, save him. Save this little soul. Anybody.
