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The light from the surface was getting further and further away no matter how desperately she reached out for it.
Zatanna didn't know drowning would be so quiet. She has seen so many characters from tv shows say that their lives flashed before their eyes. The only things going through her mind were the magic wand shaped birthday cake her dad made her for her last birthday, the big hug she gave him as a thank you, and realizing she may not be able to give him another one.
She knew she wasn't supposed to breathe the water in, but she couldn't hold her breath any longer. She took in a deep breath.
Her chest hurt. It burned like the time she touched the stove while it was hot. But this burning wouldn't go away. It was getting harder to keep her eyes open.
Just before she closed her eyes, she sure she saw something in the water coming towards her. A boy. With light blue eyes and hair as dark as her own, a shimmering red tail where his leg should have been.
It all went black.
She woke up to the water trying to escape her lungs. As the water escaped through her mouth she could distantly feel someone petting her back in time with each cough. Her dad was beside her, encouraging her to cough up all the water, to breathe, to calm down. She is fine. She is okay.
But as the world slowly came back to her and she was pulled into a tight hug from her dad, she remembered the boy from the water. She looked around but she couldn't find him. Then she looked out into the water. She's pretty sure she saw a glimmer of red.
Her father wouldn't let her near the water for years after that incident. The memory of her almost drowning was instantly associated with the beach. He already lost her mother. He couldn't lose her too.
Luckily she was able to get swimming lessons out of it. The local YMCA was where she met her best friend Artemis; where they bonded over rock bands, the funny looking instructor, and being rocking bilinguals.
It was through her that she eventually met Megan, then Conner, then Kaldur. But even while she was making new friends, she didn't forget about the boy in the water.
She had even asked her father about that day. It was painful for him to remember, but he did tell her one thing. He didn't pull her out of the water. When he was looking for her along the tide, her head popped up above the water. There was a boy carrying her. He carried her safely to the shore and into his arms. When he turned back to thank him, he was gone.
When she asked him if he had a tail, he said no and gave her the "you sound crazy" look. She didn't bring him up again. But now she knew he was real.
She didn't expect to invited to a house party at an expensive manor to meet her best friend's boyfriend.
"Wow. Your boyfriend must be pretty rich."
"No way. It's his best friend dad's manor. He just hangs out a lot here."
An elderly man in a suit with a towel draped over his arm met them at the door.
"Good afternoon, Miss Crock. And you must be Miss Zatara. Please allow me to escort you to the party."
They even had a butler!
He led them to what she guesses would be the backyard of the manor. There was a big pool before it opened up into a beautiful, even grander garden. Everyone was already in the pool or dipping their feet in the water except for one boy. He was sitting on the edge of the pool with his legs crossed, laughing with a swimming redhead.
"Master Dick, the rest of your guest have arrived. "
He turned around and she was brought back to the water.
"It's you."