532 The Flood, Ch. 44


Chapter Forty-four

The day washed over me like an evil sheet of grime. I felt like crying.

A lifetime passed.

Everything was black.

Gradually, I began to see. The grid stretching out around me. Each square, a tile.

Looking up, I could see the glow of light from the surface, but no details like the boat.

Curiously, the anchor chain was no longer wrapped around me. So I began to swim. 

Kicking my way from one end of the pool to the other felt good. There was no way to breath in, but I kept breathing out. A stream of bubbles rose from me toward the surface. 

Pushing away from the wall, I headed back toward the deep end. My body felt light and graceful. Swimming, I remembered, is fun.

But there was nothing down here. Just a spectacularly clean pool amidst a flooded world of destruction.

So, I headed for the surface.

---

Above the water, I was surprised to see Sunny. She was standing at the edge of the pool, holding two beers. 

"One is for you," she said with a smile. 

That lit me up. "Thank you," I said, kicking and taking a few dog paddles to get to the swim ladder. The scene poolside looked inviting, people of all ages hanging out and having fun. Behind them, I saw the familiar contours of Triple Peaks Island. 

This was my rock pool, but expanded. Where our old building stood was now a funky resort, complete with a self-serve keg.

As I was about to climb out of the water, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Spinning around, I saw a familiar face.

The student, Sonia, the original fork. The one who knew how to connect.

She saw the look of surprise on my face, and laughed.

"Looking for me?"










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