I really don't know what I was doing or thinking at the time, why I was there, or how things ended up the way they did. I just know that swimming on that team changed my life. I got to the semi finals and all hell broke loose. I got to the high board and froze. Then I realized where I was. The Wolverine mascot was dancing around. Then something strange happened, all the sound turned silent. I could see the mascot turn around and point his finger at me. Jump Danny. You can do it. I saw no parents in the bleachers, none of my friends were there. It was all very terrifying. I saw the cheerleader squad, some of them chatting into the ear of Trevor. The most popular jock around. They were looking up at me now too, jump Danny! Jump!…
I looked down into the pool and couldn't. I don't know what happened up there, if it was stage fright, or something more serious. In the pool below me I could see all the faces of people I knew growing up. Mrs. Carolyn, my music teacher from school, even the town's dregs of society. It was like they were all waiting for me. Then, suddenly, I found courage to overcome my fears. I jumped and pulled out one of the smoothest double gainers of my life. I hit the water and felt my head go under the surface. The impact was soft and refreshing. I could no longer relate to the crowd's cheers above the surface, nor relate to anything that was going on in that reality. Call it what you will, delusions, audio hysteria, but the people I saw from the diving board, were now reaching for me, grabbing me, pulling at my red bikini swimwear. I never felt so scared, I did all I could to get away. I tried to push the repulsive hands back, but they were too much, and overcame me. I was now in panic mode. After a while, the water became murky. There was a rest, and when I rose to the surface the gymnasium was empty. I got up out of the dirty water and walked towards the shower room, where I heard what sounded like a baby crying.
There were posters of swim meets going on, one for a dive contest, and prize money to be won. The first place would get 10,000 dollars. As I passed the posters by the locker room, I proceeded to checkout the baby's cry. Then I'd never forget what I saw there. A ghoul of some sort. I could not make it out completely. The horrible sight of this creature had a message for me. I don't remember it word for word, but I was told that: everyone has a purpose and meaning in life, even if they don't think they do. People's actions can change the future of their lives and the lives of others. Then after those words were spoke by the ghoul, it left, whatever it was. It ran behind one of the lockers cloaked in a white robe and sort of skipped out of sight, making some weird sounds as it did.
There never was any baby in need of help. It was all a trick, I thought. Then all the lights turned off and I was sitting in this dark locker room. I lit a lighter and heard drips from the other end of the locker room. A drip here, a drip drip there. I finally had an epiphany after sometime, and dropped back against the smooth blue tile wall and sunk to my feet. I sat there in that dank place and cried for about twenty two minutes, sometimes shouting in frustration as I did. My cries got so loud that I now recognized how much pain and suffering I was in. What I was feeling, and those feelings tore into my heart like a thousand daggers. I hated it, being here, not knowing what was happening to me, what I was going through. Was I, by some chance, undergoing some crazy changes? They say people change every eight years, their emotions, everything. I didn't want to believe that about myself or about people. I saw the past so vividly and assumed responsibility for the mistakes, the mistakes I felt were all my fault. Then something happened. I was offered a hand. I took the God like form of a hand. It was reaching for me out of a cloud of grey smoke. I grabbed it firmly and heard the voice of Christ. The power and confidence in me was all restored. I had relinquished my spot from the depths of despair. As the hand picked me up. I rose up into the smoke. I said where are you? Where are you? There was no one there. I couldn't see anything around me anymore in the locker room. As the smoke started to dissipate I could hear the cheers again. This time I could uphold the people. Their thunderous applause. Laughter, chanting my name. I was reborn. I climbed out of the crystal blue water of the pool. More like holy water to me, and life was most beautiful. I loved everyone. All the people were lovely to me. I ended up winning second place in the contest I entered the following week.
