I unbutton myself and stand hesitatingly in the bright sun. the sea stinks of dirty salt and decaying fish and the great crescendo of gulls scream above my head.
i hate the luminosity of my body compared to the dusky beauty of her skin and i remember being ridiculed for my white legs and almost drowning in a swimming pool when i was aged 9.
Her head bobs up again below me. 'Dive!' she screams over the screeching of the gulls and i jump.
The water rushes up at me, slamming into my chest and body, filling my eyes and nose, and i go down into the cold grey depths. There is a strange silence in that darkness. It seems that an impossible amount of time has passed since i foolishly jumped into these waves, and still it seems that i am sinking to the bottom rather than floating back to the surface.
My heart is pounding, i concentrate- counting the seconds in my head- holding my breath untill it feels like my chest will explode and my eyes pop out of my head.
I strike out madly with my white legs. 'He has heavy bones.'My mother explained to my teachers. I am drowning.
