No Plagiarism!zoC61w7eovkkDzMzV5JDposted on PENANA I used to believe the ocean was calm, like a sleeping beast.8964 copyright protection72PENANAI1sJ8pOmbt 維尼
But that was before it woke up inside me.8964 copyright protection72PENANARJXckGk1TN 維尼
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My name is Eli. I’ve never gone near deep water since I was six.8964 copyright protection72PENANAmI1Gr1KEqG 維尼
My earliest memory is of drowning but they said it never happened.8964 copyright protection72PENANARAijc7RJ3Y 維尼
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“You just panicked,” my mother once whispered, brushing my hair away from my soaked face.8964 copyright protection72PENANA6vw9GeQtAp 維尼
“There was no deep end, Eli.”8964 copyright protection72PENANA7cXUp37XxU 維尼
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But I remember the silence.8964 copyright protection72PENANAxLw0NC6lXg 維尼
The way the water swallowed sound.8964 copyright protection72PENANAlr5m6RY24C 維尼
The way it clung to my skin like a living thing.8964 copyright protection72PENANA2wCmImvrgF 維尼
The cold hands pulling me down.8964 copyright protection72PENANA7lyDXcEcai 維尼
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Since then, I avoided pools, lakes, oceans even bathtubs when I was young.8964 copyright protection72PENANAtQSFnYkkaH 維尼
I’d shower with the door open.8964 copyright protection72PENANArgiByecVV5 維尼
And whenever it rained too hard, I’d tremble.8964 copyright protection72PENANAtLmgDNyriv 維尼
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My friends called me names behind my back.8964 copyright protection72PENANA00Dry6ECEy 維尼
Coward. Mermaid boy. Shark bait.8964 copyright protection72PENANAJa6v6ES4jg 維尼
I smiled. Let them laugh.8964 copyright protection72PENANAu0fEhVJbKq 維尼
Better to be afraid than to be dead.8964 copyright protection72PENANAUwMwOjvRF9 維尼
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But last summer, everything changed.8964 copyright protection72PENANAcLnI0rhnOg 維尼
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My uncle, a marine biologist, invited me on a trip to Zanzibar.8964 copyright protection72PENANA1Cp0QDpixg 維尼
“Sun, peace, and a little ocean adventure,” he said.8964 copyright protection72PENANAbCx0sWLJRb 維尼
He didn’t know about the fear. I never told him.8964 copyright protection72PENANAOckxyjGy6U 維尼
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The hotel was perfect right by the water.8964 copyright protection72PENANAYV0QFYum0j 維尼
But every wave sounded like a warning.8964 copyright protection72PENANA3hqgH2Y7hA 維尼
Every splash felt personal.8964 copyright protection72PENANAPM5lI52RFO 維尼
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Then came the worst day.8964 copyright protection72PENANAIAemxR97Hb 維尼
Uncle signed us up for a reef dive.8964 copyright protection72PENANAMt3SW4JKmA 維尼
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My body went numb. I considered faking illness fever, food poisoning, anything.8964 copyright protection72PENANAAppBS4Dfug 維尼
But something inside me was tired.8964 copyright protection72PENANAhqAeR2p6xK 維尼
Tired of running.8964 copyright protection72PENANAixIFW1xB4e 維尼
Tired of being owned by a shadow.8964 copyright protection72PENANAi2DKlAuxaR 維尼
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So, I said yes.8964 copyright protection72PENANAgjZNa0wUOP 維尼
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That night, I barely slept.8964 copyright protection72PENANArGuVvOXnk7 維尼
I stared at the ceiling, heart pounding, hands trembling.8964 copyright protection72PENANAbddbIqfTFx 維尼
In my dreams, I was back underwater choking, screaming, sinking.8964 copyright protection72PENANAzV1xwYqLDx 維尼
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The next morning, the boat was waiting.8964 copyright protection72PENANAqeEplz588n 維尼
I moved like a puppet.8964 copyright protection72PENANAE3bM885SAA 維尼
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The instructor handed me a wetsuit. “First time?”8964 copyright protection72PENANAo9rxh24iB2 維尼
I nodded.8964 copyright protection72PENANAeB9t2IY5GG 維尼
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“Don’t worry,” she smiled. “You’ll love it.”8964 copyright protection72PENANA2l9O7WWpSm 維尼
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I didn’t answer. My mouth was dry. My skin itched.8964 copyright protection72PENANAPpKFTzmeIB 維尼
The mask. The tank. The regulator.8964 copyright protection72PENANA8gqPxX1nsE 維尼
All of it felt like chains.8964 copyright protection72PENANAZsBDG0M0C6 維尼
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I stood at the edge of the boat, staring into the vast blue.8964 copyright protection72PENANAcfwtvPDmwu 維尼
It looked endless.8964 copyright protection72PENANApVIxgzYV3I 維尼
It looked hungry.8964 copyright protection72PENANAWHN4MFUE9t 維尼
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I jumped.8964 copyright protection72PENANAjEZyyfD3f0 維尼
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The water wrapped around me like a ghost from my past.8964 copyright protection72PENANAgowXQFWgxL 維尼
It was cold.8964 copyright protection72PENANAZamxFFbnXn 維尼
Too cold.8964 copyright protection72PENANAZjFYzZmUTG 維尼
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Panic rose.8964 copyright protection72PENANAmsSumjPEDs 維尼
My vision blurred.8964 copyright protection72PENANAW7VCFCtzsA 維尼
I forgot to breathe.8964 copyright protection72PENANAGh4uKPJyGy 維尼
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Then I heard her voice the instructor through the earpiece.8964 copyright protection72PENANACzk6cysv2s 維尼
“Breathe, Eli. In. Out. Slowly.”8964 copyright protection72PENANAcVmnWBdWGS 維尼
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I tried.8964 copyright protection72PENANAxu1THABptI 維尼
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One breath. Two. Three.8964 copyright protection72PENANAvXZiteoKId 維尼
My lungs remembered.8964 copyright protection72PENANAFtTt4ZRp3H 維尼
My heartbeat slowed.8964 copyright protection72PENANAsb9HYDop9F 維尼
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Down we went.8964 copyright protection72PENANA4bu9lI91ho 維尼
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Ten feet.8964 copyright protection72PENANAWicQw70k9Q 維尼
Twenty.8964 copyright protection72PENANAb1UR4u3Dnc 維尼
Thirty.8964 copyright protection72PENANAMmQMvOdEtm 維尼
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Coral gardens appeared.8964 copyright protection72PENANAsvPwtvnO7y 維尼
Colorful fish danced around us like spirits.8964 copyright protection72PENANANbG0YGqsGV 維尼
A turtle floated by, majestic and slow.8964 copyright protection72PENANA4UA6MlxgEW 維尼
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My fear was still there.8964 copyright protection72PENANAEmGnVhMEnt 維尼
But something else grew inside me wonder.8964 copyright protection72PENANAMJF7Y2iAm0 維尼
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Then… I saw it.8964 copyright protection72PENANA7o4CR4GzHe 維尼
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A shadow.8964 copyright protection72PENANADMwdA3LK5p 維尼
Human-shaped.8964 copyright protection72PENANAweIGSybfby 維尼
Floating.8964 copyright protection72PENANAmLeLSfYWLa 維尼
Facing me.8964 copyright protection72PENANAUMmIAFqkSs 維尼
76Please respect copyright.PENANACRj8tWr8OB
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Eyes wide. Face pale.8964 copyright protection72PENANAb0uzUJJr1A 維尼
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It was… me.8964 copyright protection72PENANApVHgaa6NTa 維尼
But younger.8964 copyright protection72PENANAvMiN4QwIrF 維尼
Six-year-old Eli.8964 copyright protection72PENANAQQNxTaj4vc 維尼
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I froze.8964 copyright protection72PENANAgc2RkTklei 維尼
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He didn’t move.8964 copyright protection72PENANAjdWq3lGyNz 維尼
Just stared.8964 copyright protection72PENANANFvIbr7f4z 維尼
Accusing.8964 copyright protection72PENANAAqmK9Pe0PL 維尼
Afraid.8964 copyright protection72PENANA9lElIKCA7S 維尼
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I swam forward, slowly.8964 copyright protection72PENANAMiJSM6LDby 維尼
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My hand reached out — trembling — toward my younger self.8964 copyright protection72PENANA0UMKpFlDyT 維尼
He blinked. Then… smiled.8964 copyright protection72PENANASuQRXRBa3P 維尼
And vanished.8964 copyright protection72PENANAAPiUSmtkUw 維尼
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I surfaced, gasping.8964 copyright protection72PENANAXBhL4GKCdi 維尼
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The sky was bright.8964 copyright protection72PENANA2gMRi5qr2q 維尼
The waves gentle.8964 copyright protection72PENANA2TEfSx08P3 維尼
76Please respect copyright.PENANAlyH8i4Qd2L
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My uncle called out. “You okay?”8964 copyright protection72PENANALonhKVUO2i 維尼
I nodded.8964 copyright protection72PENANAVB8I5aYg9x 維尼
76Please respect copyright.PENANA0UOAIjVfVw
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But I wasn’t just okay.8964 copyright protection72PENANAJxxMXsv4am 維尼
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I was new.8964 copyright protection72PENANAjdmcJpjXZS 維尼
Reborn.8964 copyright protection72PENANA6RIZ8dLUyM 維尼
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That night, I dreamed of water again.8964 copyright protection72PENANAyJORZ8XdPZ 維尼
But this time, I wasn’t drowning.8964 copyright protection72PENANAlKFTSmH5WP 維尼
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I was swimming.8964 copyright protection72PENANASEl6Cgl5Ci 維尼
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