Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Kin

“Did something happen to you to make you afraid of the water?” I asked.

“I’m not afraid of the water so much as I am fearful of what lurks beneath its surface. Just imagining it could cause me to get lightheadedness and shortness of breath, let alone getting into the deep water.” Ami uttered in a more sober tone.

“It was always the case of a bad experience if you have thalassophobia; either someone pushed you into the sea unexpectedly, or something pulled you down,” I added.

“Try both,” she grimaced. “Only that it’s not the sea but the river.”

I locked my eyes on her, hoping she would tell me more of her bad experience, but she just smirked. “It’s nothing, really. As long as I am not asked to swim, it’s fine by me.”

“Please, if you don’t mind, I’d like to know what happened,” I insisted gently.

Ami gazed into my eyes and then turned her head facing the lake. She dipped her head, contemplating if she should tell me, but after a while, I figured she might have reservations about telling strangers her life story, so I hushed up.

“I was ten,” she suddenly started. “There were a few rivers in Portland, and my class teacher had chosen Washougal River as our campsite. It was agreed upon for its great spot for swimming and bridge jumping. At that age, I still couldn’t swim. I didn’t have time to learn, so I thought the duration spent in Washougal River would be perfect for learning and practising. My classmates, however, didn’t know I couldn’t swim. When it was time for recreation, we were given choices as to what we decide to do, so I opted to gather water samples, unlike the rest who couldn’t wait to jump into the river to swim. As we walked across the bridge, we looked down, and all the girls shuddered. Imagine jumping from a bridge that high to the bottom of the river. Of course, none of the girls wanted to do that. But the boys were challenging one another, pushing and daring, and I was caught in the crossfire. The next thing I knew, I was flying from the bridge, plunged to the bottom of the river.”

I gasped, my jaws instantly clenched. My protective instincts were revved up automatically.

“What’s worse, creepers were sprouting at the bottom of the riverbed, and my ankles were caught in them, hence pulling me down. I thought my life would end there. In my mind, I was only thinking of my parents. I was upset with myself for not telling my mom and dad how much I loved them that morning. I even wished I had said yes to Chris, the boy who wanted to kiss me in school. At least I’d died a happy girl,” Ami tittered.

I didn’t find it funny. So when she saw my stoic face, she cleared her throat and continued.

“I was lucky when Mr Barton happened to be walking right behind us. He jumped in to save me, but not fast enough. I guess the creepers took a liking to me and gripped my ankles hard. Water filled my lungs and had to be pumped out, so I was taken to the hospital, and it took three days for me to recover. From then on, I had this phobia of going into any deep water.”

I looked deeply into Ami’s eyes and said, “For what it’s worth, you’ve been given another chance at life, and I think you should grab that opportunity to the fullest.”

She faltered. “You made it sound so easy. If you meant that I should give it a try at swimming, well, I dunno….”

“I’ll be right by your side,” I encouraged her.

“My dad had tried before, and it didn’t work, Kin. I don’t see how your effort would be any different,” she argued softly.

“We’ll see about that. I have my ways,” I persisted.

Ami set her forlorn eyes at me, her expression of hopelessness clear in them. It was enough to make me determine that I would make her overcome her phobia.

“Anakin, could we stay a little longer? I want to see the sunset,” Ami’s soft voice drifted into my ears.

“Anything for you, Amidala,” I whispered. I knew she could hear me because I saw her beaming with happiness.

The spectacle presented by the setting sun as it sank beneath the lake was one of the greatest charms of our evening walk by the shore. For the more significant part of the year, the clouds, whose fantastic shapes and brilliant hues, added so much to the beauty of a sunset. But even in a cloudless sky when the broad sun was sinking in its tranquillity, the phenomenon presented to the eye was full of claim beauty.

After the spectacular view of the sinking sun, I heard Ami said she was tired, and I sort of pulled the side of her head gently to me as a joke. But then she reciprocated and laid her head on my shoulder. I couldn’t help but smile, my heart bursting with delight as I curled my fingers around her shoulders. For a while, she was leaning against me and dozed off until she slid down slowly to place her head on my lap. I watched her sleep soundly as my fingers moved deftly in the strands of her hair, sweeping them gently on their own accord. I took off my jacket and covered Ami with it. It might be summer, but the evenings could be pretty chilly. We stayed that way for half an hour until Ami stirred and opened her eyes, only to stare at me bemusedly from her lying position. She was probably in a daze as to where she was, but as I smiled at her, she quickly sat up, flustered to be in a disposition.

“I’m so sorry, Kin. I didn’t realise how tired I was,” Ami apologised profusely. Just how could a woman look so sensuous and pleasurable even after her deep slumber? I couldn’t seem to find any flaw in this bewitching woman. What’s more, she’s looking at me now with her doe eyes. Gosh, the way she looked at me had me tugging at my heartstrings.