UNDERWATER TRAINING WITH ENLIL-E

Astrid woke up in the morning with good vibes. She took a long shower indulging herself in her own products. She wanted to go to the market today to take advantage of it being Friday, the day before weekend starts and where there will be more people around to buy her oil and creams.

`Morning, pop', she greeted him with a kiss and sat next to him.

`You are cheerful today, dear', Pop spoke to her knowing full well that she was happy to be able to stay with the Wagner's for the weekend. Deep down he was grateful to the boy for bringing this side of her, something she lost when Miller tried raping her.

`Just another day. I smell divine food', Astrid sniffed deeply at the butter toast and jam lain in front of her.

`Well, we must train before you go off. Girra and I will go to the market if you want to skip', Enlil sat and started pouring milk for himself.

`It's ok, I want to go to the market. I miss Mrs Farrow', she shrugged her shoulder and ate her breakfast.

`We are training outdoors today. I need you to learn basic hand to hand combat skills underwater', Enlil spoke, and Astrid nodded.

As soon as she cleared the table, Astrid, Enlil and Girra walked to the waterfall, the exact place where she last poured her heart to Ace. Astrid smiled to herself, lost in her thoughts. Once they reached the clearing, Astrid removed her loose shirt and shorts before tying her hair and diving into the cool water in her BILLABONG swimsuit. She swam in the river, feeling goosebumps, the water was chilly in the morning.

`Astrid I need you to control your breath underwater for an extended period. Inhale a huge amount of air, using both your mouth and nose. Then stay underwater and hold on the air within your lungs. You need to summon the air within to you to sustain you. Control it with your mind and it will listen to you', Enlil told her.

Astrid nodded and Enlil took hold of her hands outstretching them.

`Ready?',

`Yes', Astrid replied confidently and took large gulps of air. Enlil slowly dipped into the water, completely submerged and she followed suit. Both sat cross legs on the riverbed, staring into each other.

She closed her eyes and focused all her attention in the air she swallowed earlier. All her training involved in using gestures of air, summoning it when she punched, kicked and trained with Enlil. This would be the first time she told her body to focus on the air in her body, specifically her lungs.

At first, she had difficulty on how to focus. The oxygen level was diminishing with every second. She was just an ordinary being, and she soon felt a burning sensation clawing her lungs, desperation for air arising. Her lungs felt squeezed tight trying to grab into whatever little oxygen was there. When she felt the pain bursting out, she opened her eyes and pushed herself out of the water, gasping for air.

Enlil was still underwater, looking up at her. She steadied her breathing and saw Girra waving at her.

`Think of the air as thin long strings, Astrid. And focus on those strings. Maybe it will help you that way', she shouted.

Astrid merely nodded and repeated what she did earlier. This time she closed her eyes and focused on the movements of wind around her, imagining them as strings. Her fingers caught hold of the wind and she twisted them into long coiling strings and breathed them in. She continued to spin an imaginary wheel, producing coils of wind similar to spinning a wheel of cotton to make a thread.

Astrid only stopped when she felt her lungs were filled to the brim, only then she dipped completely underwater and sat crossed legs facing Enlil. He smirked at her. She closed her eyes and this time, she felt at complete ease. Enlil touched her cheeks and her eyes flew open. He gestured her to look around her.

Under the sunlight, she saw the water surface glitter, the forest looked magical, under the halo of water. She saw tiny froglets, swimming furiously around her, she moved her hands towards them and froglets that were hidden under the bedrock, scurried away. She could not laugh but smirk at their actions. Astrid dug her hands under the rocks, releasing murky dirt into the water which disappeared with the current flow.

Astrid noticed something slimy against her legs and she peered over them to see a school of freshwater fish swimming around her legs. They were colourful and she tried to touch them, but it swam away from her. Astrid slowly lowered her upper body into the riverbed, feeling the rocks crunch under her weight, releasing dirt and she straightened her legs, feeling her feet touching Enlil's legs.

Astrid held her breath longer than expected, the coils of wind releasing only tiny bubbles out of her nostrils, the bubbles enlarging once it moved upward towards the surface. She was at peace. If the God of death came to her she would gladly follow, she was completely in harmony with the water, air and earth. Her eyes stared at the simple wonders of Mother Nature, albeit underwater. Who knew the view from underwater was just as beautiful? 

She marvelled at the water moving in a constant flow, calm and free. I want my life to be like that.