Underwater Goddess

It didn't matter who was home - whether she was alone or in the presence of others. All that mattered was that the sun had gone down - dark enough that she felt hidden from everything, enveloped in the blacks, shrouded from the world. Stranded.

When everything was silent and all she could hear was the occasional gust of wind playing amongst the slumbering grass or the chorus of crickets that performed every night, she'd sneak out of the house, careful not to shut the sliding door too loud, tip-toeing along the edge of the deck, avoiding the boards she knew would moan under her weight and announce her presence all the way to the edge of the pool. She'd stand there - just staring into it, waiting for the right moment. When the water was completely still - like glass. She knew it was time when the dark hid her reflection - just a dark portal - open and inviting.

That's when she'd step in. Not quickly, but not slow enough to let the coolness of the water deter her from going in any further. She wouldn't stop. She'd continue forward, step after step, continuing as the water would pass her hips, her belly button, her chest, until it hung right below her nose. Taking one final deep breath, the rest of her would go under - forward, until she was hovering in the water, suspended, lost in the inky abyss around her.

Arms spread out, legs dangling, lost amongst the absent current, she'd listen closely. The occasional air bubble that would escape from between her lips, sprinting to the surface, only to disappear with a quick pop. Her heart thumped in between her ears - beating against her chest. Pumping the blood that was in her veins. She could feel it begin to slow down, churning less and less, her muscles loosen, her body ease - the stress seeping out of her pores and getting lost amongst the chlorinated water.

When everything seemed to slow down and the noise from above the water drowned out, thats when she'd imagine that she was in another world. Surrounded by creatures that lived in the water - men and women, just like her, but from below the surface. They welcomed her, embraced her. They never asked her questions, never scolded her - just took her for who she was. It was absolutely enlightening. She imagined she could swim anywhere she wanted. The walls of the pool no longer existed - melted away, no restrictions. It was her escape. Her land.

For as long as her lungs would allow, she was an underwater goddess.