Businge Abid Weere
Today I had my umpteenth swimming lesson in the last 5 years. Always stopped at the same stage.
See, today I remembered that I almost drowned as a kid. I was in the middle of a farm bordered by a forest. I was chilling by the dug deep valley dam as the cows drunk. Other people were in the forest. I walked by the valley dam to check something. I slipped . I fell in. Stories of how cows fell in and were never seen again gripped my heart. I threw my hands. I could feel invisible ropes reach for my ankles from deep within the water. I started screaming. The ropes grew closer. I screamed more.
I felt strong hands grip mine and pull me out. I was still screaming. People had pulled me out. I kept quiet. Happy the hands had reached me before the ropes of death. I looked back at the dam. It was calming down. Looking innocent. Yet its invisible ropes had tried to take me.
Today as I submerged my head in the clear water. I remembered that fear. That feeling of impending doom. That helplessness. I felt the fear I had submerged so long reach out for me again. As I held myself under water, and saw the bubbles . As I looked at my belly like the instructor had said. I realised I was underwater and not drowning.
I emerged and floated for a while. The memories, adrenaline, the sun, the lick of the water all merged. It was saddening and relieving. I had almost drowned as a kid. Yet almost doesn’t count. Today I looked up at the sky and felt the water hold me up. I smiled.
Today I had my first swimming lesson. Looking forward to the next one.
~Abid Weere, 2025~
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