I was standing in a place that looked familiar.
The silence was as if I had paused a game.
The dark blue surface of the water stretched out in the darkness as far as the eye could see.
It was not an ocean, a lake, or a pool. Bottomless water.
Something white is shimmering in the water. Something white is trying to invite me into the water.
I couldnāt help but turn away.
I hate it. Iām scared. The water reminds me of death. Stop it. Please stop.
I regulated my ragged breathing and looked at the white thing again.
As I stare at it, I can see the outline of something white gradually appearing.
No, itās not. Itās not trying to invite me in.
Itās asking me for help.
Itās Emu. Emu is drowning in the water.
I reflexively jumped into the dark water
Forgetting the fear I had earlier, I waded through the water selflessly.
Aiming at the white coat illuminated by the scarce light. Just straight ahead.
The distance between me and Emu is gradually shrinking. Five meters. Four meters. Three meters.
I reached out with all my might. Two meters.
Emu reached out to me. One meter.
Iāll never let Emu die. Fifty centimeters.
Iāve almost reached his hand. Ten centimeters.
I grabbed Emuās hand. Youāre safe now, Emu.
But the next moment, Emu pulled my arm. He dragged me into the bottomless water.
I let out a gasp. Air bubbles came pouring out of my mouth.
It was painful. I couldnāt breathe.
I struggled. I immediately tried to get out of the water.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldnāt reach the surface. I couldnāt even tell which way was up and which way was down.
Emu, who was watching me struggle in vain, was laughing at me.
Why are you laughing? If you stay here like that, youāll die too.
I hate it. Iām scared. I donāt want to die.