Watery Graves Read Free

brought out Maya’s gaunt frame highlighted the pink in Ingrid’s cheeks. Years ago they’d looked alike. Age changed them.
    Maya’s jewellery jangled like chimes as she reached for Emmy’s hair. Squeezing it, she tied it back into a bun, “Don’t want you to get tangled in anything. Your mother would never forgive me.”
    The swimming lessons were Maya’s idea. They’d begun before Emmy was old enough to remember and long before the worries about drowning overtook her mind. But fear was contagious.
    “Mum will never get used to this, will she?” Emmy half-joked.
    “Don’t make fun of her, Em. Let her feel how she feels. I hope you’ll never understand what it’s like to lose everyone you love to a watery death. You’re lucky it happened before you were born.”
    “I know. I know.” Emmy waved her away and looked down at her submerged feet and wiggled her toes. She had never met any of her dead relatives but sensed their presence in the river. Opaque images swam in the waters below. No one else saw them. Kristian was too old to notice them and Sebastian too young and preoccupied to bother looking. Ingrid never came close enough to the water and Maya waded in the shallows.
    Aware of the pounding in her chest as panic welled inside her, Emmy staggered, eager to break free from the muddy clasp and get to shore, dragging Sebastian with her. Emmy edged towards dry ground, determined not to let the river get its chance to take her that day. But the mud held her back.
    “Em?”
    Emmy’s fingers slipped out of Sebastian’s. Maya stopped her, pulling her close.  “Let any anxiety go. It’s not as real as you think. It’s just a sensation in your body. Clear your mind. Whatever is, is,” Maya whispered into Emmy’s ear.
    Emmy fought the desire to run, to disappear among the trees, leaving a trail of wet footsteps and clothes, wild, pulling her long hair free, but she knew that if fear took over she would never swim again, just like her mother.
    “You ready, Em?” Kristian called, drawing her thoughts away from the mountain and back to the river. “It’s all clear.”
    “Nothing has ever happened to you.” Maya rubbed her back. “We all just need to know that you can swim should there ever be a need someday. Take some deep breaths. Remember, you’ve done it all before.”
    When Kristian was close enough, he threw her the life float attached to his raft by rope. Maya stepped back and Sebastian guided it to the side. It was there for Ingrid’s peace of mind. She couldn’t remember ever reaching for it.
    “You ready?” Kristian asked.
    She gave him a slow nod and dived in. The water stroked her skin, like loving fingers of the ghosts who swam through it. When she pushed everything aside, she relished in the tranquil lity of the water. With one long even stroke after another, she pulled herself through the water with ease.
    Kristian and Sebastian paddled alongside her. The rope remained slack. From the depths, a dull booming sound grew louder evolving into a barking dog. Above the water the hush of airy open spaces of the mountain world taunted her on each breath. Among the reeds, translucent upturned faces of dead relatives offered solemn support.
    *
    “If it’s okay with everyone, Emmy and I might head to our cabin a little earlier tonight,” Ingrid said, wiping the kitchen table.
    “It’s fine,” Maya said. “Go for it.”
    “We haven’t finished cleaning up. We can’t leave them with all these dishes,” Emmy said, picking up a tea towel.
    “Get it over with,” Sebastian whispered in her ear.
    It sent a shiver down her spine. Not his words. The whispering, his breath at her neck. She pressed her shoulder to her ear.
    “I love washing up Em.” Kristian smiled, holding up two sudsy hands. “It gets my nails clean.”
    “Yuk, Kristian,” Maya moaned, flicking him with a towel.
    Emmy took one more look at Sebastian before Ingrid pulled her out the door. “Ow Mum.”
    Ingrid let go.