Lake
The water was cool as I swam slowly. The pebbles
at the bottom glimmered hazily. I was careful not to disturb
the peace. An insect glided on the surface but disappeared when
I approached it.
I
dived. My hair undulated along the stream. I surfaced and shook
the water out of my eyes. There were rings on the lake, which
disappered in the distance. A gentle breeze shook the reeds.
A few ducks flew by some distance away. The forest at the end
of the lake glowed green and luminescent against the sun. I
floated and stared at the sky.
A
150-metre-long ferry, Ms. Cinderella, broke the heavens and
fell down from the clouds. There was a darkening shadow on the
lake that widened rapidly as the Viking Line ship hurdled downwards.
I made a sudden movement left and swam as fast as I could to
avoid being crushed by the 40,000 tons of iron and steel, which
soon dashed against the water causing an incredible avalanche
and a torrent of flood. I protected myself against the chaos
to the best of my abilities, holding my breath so as not to
get water in my lungs. I was carried some 50 metres away, which
made it impossible not to swallow some water as the tsunami
flooded upon me.
Due
to my great swimming skills, however, I was able to rise above
the currents and, to my consternation, I discerned how the huge
ferry ping ponged on the lake as the momentum of the movement
was not used up yet; heaps of passengers were thrown in the
air and, as the ship kept rocking this way and that, dozens
were crushed.
I
was more than fully occupied in avoiding Ms. Cinderella, which
crashed on either sides of the lake. Alarmed people shouted
at each other as they swam to reach the rescue boats. Some strong
individuals helped the weaker ones and gave orders and commands.
I dived deep and tried my best to drag the drowning back to
life, grasping them by their hands, feet and hair. Indeed, I
was able to rescue a few fortunate ones.
Still,
a majority of the passengers died. It took a long while before
it was quiet at the lake again.
