Chapter Text
The water was cold, a sharp freeze that pinched at her skin. The current was fast, too fast for a 5-year-old to swim against. Its violent waves grabbed at her like hands, dragging her down. Her pink shoe was nowhere in sight, and she could hear the panic in her parents’ voices as they spotted their daughter being helplessly dragged down.
Fear surged in Chihiro’s mind as she comprehended the dire situation. What could she possibly do to escape this?
The more she tried to push towards the surface, the further she sank. She tried her hardest to keep her mouth shut to prevent the salty liquid from going down her throat, making her cough and preventing her from screaming out for help. The more she struggled, the faster she sank. Before she knew it, she was completely submerged. Her limbs were tired, and her legs couldn’t keep trying to propel her to the surface. Out of instinct, she tried to scream again, but she regretted opening her mouth the second water began rushing in, taking up the much-needed space for air. The lack of oxygen was beginning to take effect as she closed her eyes. Her mind drifted to her parents. Will she ever see them again? Why couldn’t she have listened to her mother more when she told her not to go too close to the water's edge?
Her worries soon began to slip away as the feeling of freezing water gave way to nothingness. She drifted into a state of calm.
So, this is how it ends, then? Sinking to lie in a bed of sand and seagrass. Chihiro felt a tear escape her eye, floating off to become one with the water around her. Her vision became blurry as she helplessly watched the bright light of the surface stretch farther and farther from her reach as she sank lower. Her eyes closed, shutting out the last bit of light.
Through her near unconsciousness, she swore she could feel something moving across her back. Was it a rock? Had she already sunk to the bottom?
The rock felt weird, though. It almost had the texture of scales on a fish. Suddenly, her vision was completely overtaken by shimmering scales. All bright white and blue. A faint feeling of panic rose in her chest. Great. She was about to be eaten by a massive fish. Despite the implications of something much bigger being down there with her, she couldn't find the strength to panic.
She was roughly jogged out of her stupor as she felt small hands grab onto her arms. Was that a person? Had someone jumped in to save her?
The stranger began to try and haul her up towards the surface. The hands felt as cold as the water around her, but the determination of the mysterious person gave the almost unconscious girl a flicker of hope.
The stranger pulled Chihiro closer to the edge of the shoreline. The current grasped and pulled at her legs and arms, fighting to regain control, but her saviour was having none of it. Before she knew it, she could feel the sand under her feet as the small hands gave her one final push. Her head burst from the water, and she opened her mouth to gulp down the oxygen that was so cruelly taken from her. She had no time to focus on breathing, though, as she was being pushed towards the shore. Before she knew it, she was crawling onto the bank, her exhaustion battled with her consciousness as she listened to the sound of footsteps and her parents' cries coming closer. She whipped her head around to catch a glimpse of her saviour. But there was no one there. Her eyes were suddenly drawn to a set of gleaming scales that disappeared into the water as quickly as she spotted them. Had it been a giant fish that had saved her?
She was scooped up by her father, who immediately began to check her breathing. She could hear her mother sobbing next to them as she was talking on the phone to someone, probably the ambulance. Her surroundings began to make no sense anymore. She felt cold and hot at the same time, and she was having trouble taking full breaths. Had she swallowed too much water? Her pink shoe hung loosely on her foot. Its twin lost to the currents below, probably never to be seen again.
Her head lolled to the side to shield her eyes from the glaring summer sun. Through her blurred vision, she could see a boy. Young, maybe her age. Pale skin and dark hair, like the seagrass you’d find fish hiding in at the bottom of the lake. He stared at her behind the branch of a Kousa tree. His small, pale hands were gripping the shaking leaves. Chihiro couldn’t make out much. But if she looked close enough, she would see the unmistakable gleam of fear in his sharp eyes.
Her parents began to carry her back to the entrance of the park. She could hear the faint whines of sirens coming this way. She strained her neck to try and catch one last glimpse of the boy, but he was gone.
All she could see was the same shimmering scales disappearing into the water.