Leah breathed her last all alone in the pool, dressed in her favorite green swimsuit. She floated there as if gazing at something sparkling from beneath the water. I found her. We shared a room. I yelled hysterically for help as I jumped into the water in my pajamas. She was on the deep end. Each stroke became a herculean task. It was like a strange force was pulling me under. If only I was wrong—that she was practising the butterfly stroke or something. She wasn’t far from the deck. Exerting myself, I pulled her out and immediately began performing the Heimlich maneuver. It was pointless. My heart palpitated wildly, and my hands trembled vigorously. She lay there, cold and lifeless. I had failed my best friend. Her mother would never forgive me for breaking the promise.
Two lifeguards and a few campers arrived a few minutes later, just as I tried feeling for a pulse a second time. Nothing. One of the lifeguards confirmed it, while the other pulled me away from her.
“No way!”
“ Leah!”
“ No! What happened?”
My strength drained; I stared at them numbly. If only I had heard her wake up.
Three hours earlier, she had won the Live Spring Best Camper Competition. No one deserved it more than she did. For the three days we had been at Life Spring Resort and Camping Center, Leah was the life of the party. She participated in nearly all the activities and won several games for her team, despite her mother’s warning. She didn’t rub it in on her opponents either.
“It’s just a game, and someone must win anyway,” she said.
The swimming area was out of bounds beyond 9pm. Engaged the whole day, everyone looked forward to having a restful night. She had showered, used her inhaler, and bid me goodnight.
“Swimming during the night is more fun,” Leah said occasionally.
I turned in bed and noticed she wasn’t in hers. The clock read 11pm.
It was my idea that we come here. Our parents had begrudgingly agreed on the condition that we wouldn’t do anything foolish. They made us swear to watch out for each other.
Respiratory distress was the paramedics’ immediate assumption.
I couldn’t stand it. Not graduating together would kill me. How about her mother? So I ran as fast as I could from it all.
*******
Life Spring was renamed Blue Spring. The camping aspect had been scrapped. After a decade, I had to come here, where my life had literally stopped. The manager understood and gave me access to the room. It was like she was there, on the bed, smiling at me, like she had done in the dream. And then, strangely, I felt something. Freedom.
The swimming pool area was all blue from the previous white. Placards with instructions and warnings were everywhere. A life-defining moment had come.
Lying prostrate on the same spot as years ago,dressed in her favorite color, green, I whispered ‘a goodbye’ to Leah.