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"How come you can't swim?" King-Lu asked, surprised.
Cookie was lying on the bank, gasping chaotically. King-Lu caught Cookie's hat in the river bushes and returned to the bank to shake water off almost like a dog. He glanced at the fishing lines he was trying to untangle when Cookie slipped and fell, and sighed.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Cookie answered. "Just in shock."
He was staring into the sky.
"Sorry I didn't understand sooner that you were drowning. I thought you just wanted to have fun."
"In this weather?" Cookie sounded a bit mad, but he was only ashamed and angry with himself. He finally sat up.
"Are you cold? I don't want my best baker to fall ill."
"A bit," Cookie said unwillingly and let King-Lu cover him with one of the blankets yet to be washed.
"I'll teach you how to swim," King-Lu promised.
Next day it was much warmer so King-Lu decided not to waste time.
"Come here," he said gently. He stood in water in his underwear with his hand reaching out for Cookie. "You'll be safe."
Cookie was sure he would be, as he always felt with King-Lu, but still hesitated.
Finally, he stepped into cold water. The river was fast in the middle, but surprisingly calm at the bank. He took King-Lu's firm hand and felt a bit more confident. In the end, many people can swim, he thought.
"We won't go deep, don't worry."
"This spot seemed deep enough yesterday," Cookie smiled nervously.
"It isn't, though," King-Lu laughed. "You were drowning over there." He coughed. "Look, I have no experience in teaching, but I swim very well. You have to relax and let water carry you. You will definitely stay afloat."
He held Cookie with his arms and told himself not to get distracted at their closeness. He meant business and the business was important. What is the point in living next to a river if you can't swim, he laughed internally. He didn't say it out loud.
Cookie tried as hard as he could, but the fear was stronger. He was freezing too and shaking for both reasons.
"Oh, you are stubborn," King-Lu said finally. "I think it's enough for today. Teaching is hard."
Cookie was so happy to get out of the water he didn't even hate himself for not succeeding at all.
They got dressed in their dry clothes and went home. There they had some whiskey to get warm (Cookie) and reward himself for his educational debut (King-Lu).
Cookie saw himself drowning in milk. He was watching from up high, and looking at his own body gave him chills. He felt hopeless and breathless, suffocating.
He woke up in tears and reached for King-Lu's hand straight off.
"What's wrong, Cookie?" mumbled King-Lu. "A nightmare?"
"Again, yes," Cookie went silent for a moment. "Will you teach me how to swim tomorrow?"
"If you want that, sure. Now sleep," answered King-Lu and hugged him close.
Cookie nuzzled in his lover's chest and in a while, went back to sleep.