The Water Shows Fears

A small, clear, yellow light is shining above you; you’re spewing up water from a pool of death and fear. Physically, you’re sore and incapacitated, looking around as your vision turns from blurry to perfect. People are just staring at you with fear in their eyes. As they just watched a child being brought back to the surface of a nine foot pool; taking their first breath again. In the short story “Deep Water,” by William O. Douglas, a boy learns the importance of knowing how to swim and the consequences that follow.
Drowning is ranked the 4th leading cause of death in the United States for children from 5 to 15 years old, according to www.pediatric.theclinics.com. Water can be a dangerous place for young people, especially when the person has a fear of water from a childhood memory. In the short story “Deep Waters,” by William O. Douglas, this young boy has a life changing experience when he is thrown into a deep pool, without having full knowledge of swimming properly. As he is sinking, a plan of escape comes to him, which he thought was going to work. Unfortunately, holding his breath nine feet down was too much for his lungs to handle; he began to strain himself from breathing. Reluctantly, he took a deep breath, but instead of sucking in air, he inhaled water. Physically the water affected him as it flooded his lungs. While his mind created hallucinations, he began to see the light of heaven. A situation similar to this has happened to me. A deep sleep covered over me, when a nightmare began to appear. I was underwater, holding my breath with little bubbles floating up to the never ending surface. Then, visions of bodies appeared: they were all lying on the bottom with the sand and small rocks. They all were looking pale, while their eyes were closed and no bubbles were appearing. I knew at that moment that I was going to be next. While staring at the far surface, my chest began to burn and my legs became useless. The urge to scream exploded in me as I let out the last breath. I began to choke on the water, while my body began to shake. My eyes were beginning to blink rapidly, until I saw a dark room with a large bed and a counter with a microwave sitting in the same position as it was when I fell asleep. Two of my three room mates were shaking me and I realized I was having the worse nightmare possible. But in the story “Deep Water,” this wasn’t just a terrifying nightmare, but a horrific moment and memory for this young boy. Due to the incident, this young man has had a fear of water.
Not only did this boy experience physical pain, but this situation also changed his mental status. After a fearful experience, a person may feel alone and paranoid. A child’s feelings may be affected worse than that of an adult might feel. The boy in this story faced emotional pain that his mother couldn’t understand. She didn’t comfort him, she only stood there and watched as her only son suffered with the fear of water. In one of the chapters in “Eclipse,” by Stephanie Meyer, the human girl was being protected by her vampire boy friend, but when the temperature drops down to a dangerous level for a human. Bella, the human girl, began shivering uncontrollably. Unfortunately, the boyfriend couldn’t help her, because his skin was as cold as ice. As Bella lay there, with her teeth chattering like a lawn mower, her boyfriend suffered from the pain of not helping her. The boy’s mother should have tried to help her son with his phobia.
The knowledge of swimming is very important; learning it at a young age is the best way to help you and your child. Swimming is a simple activity for a person to learn, but if the person created Hydrophobia, which means you have a fear of water, swimming may become a challenge and the person may not excel as fast as a child. Any person can drown, with or without knowing how to swim. Drowning can be caused by a series of events. Some of these events could possibly be: an injury, an accident, or possibly not knowing how to swim. In “Deep Waters,” the boy is thrown into the pool by a student in high school. The teenager meant for it to be a joke, until the boy he threw into the pool began to drown. Accidents happen every day: it could be a fire or getting hit by a car, but drowning is one of the most often heard about. Unfortunately, accidents are caused by stupidity. It mostly happens to adults. Some adults will think going on the ice in the winter is strong enough for them to drive on, until they see that the ice is much thinner than expected. They’ll try to drive back, but it’s too late and the vehicle will drop into the freezing, ice water.
People face challenges every day, if its phobias, bullies, or even not knowing how to do something: like riding a bike or even not knowing how to swim. They are all going to face challenges, and thankfully people learn how to deal with all these problems in their own way; sometimes they do need help. That’s why we should care about other people. It is loved ones that make a difference.