I can hear people jumping in the water. Kids are laughing. I can hear the waves splashing. A motorcycle loudly speeds by. I can hear people walk on the damp road. Someone is dragging their feet. Men and boys holler from a distance. An old lady shouts at someone. Someone is using a walis tingting to sweep something.
I loved swimming when I was younger. I'd swim everyday. I used to live in my grandmother's house in a private subdivision. There was a huge pool in her backyard. No one was home that day except for me and a handful of househelp. I forced my nanny to swim with me. I threw a tantrum until she finally agreed. She and another househelp joined me to swim that afternoon. I loved jumping in the water in the shallow end of the pool. I felt like I was so brave. My nanny challenged me to try it in the deep end using my swan-shaped lifesaver. I wasn't afraid because I knew I wouldn't drown. I jumped in again and again. My nanny and the other househelp were sitting on the pool steps in the shallow end. I called out to her "Yaya! Look!" and then I jumped in. My hands forgot to grip on to the lifesaver and I felt my toes touch the pool floor. I tried to swim up for air but I was panicking. I called out to my nanny but I couldn't find her. I felt my hands touch the lifesaver floating nearby and I grabbed on to it. I swam to the shallow end and got mad at my nanny for not paying attention. I could have drowned! I left her and the other househelp and went to my room to cry.
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