Under the water

It was the middle of the night. I packed my bags quietly. I snuck into his room and grabbed his keys. I truly needed to get away from him. Last night was horrible. He hit me so hard it left a mark. I could feel my face begin to burn and swell.

My mother thought I'd fallen and hurt myself because as a child I was known for being clumsy. How could I stay with a man who felt it was ok to hit me? He apologized profusely. Sorry wasn't good enough. This would be the last time I would ever let him hurt me.

I slowly and quietly closed his bedroom door. I grabbed all of my belongings and made a run for it. The front door closed with a loud bang. I knew I had to get far away and fast. I had only walked a few blocks when I felt my heart skip a beat. It was as if I couldn't breathe. I was anxious. I saw headlights nearing from behind.

I didn't know if I should hide or act normal. Someone was honking the horn. I turned my head and immediately recognized his car. I hadn't run in years. I hadn't exercised in months. There was no way I could get out of this. I knew if I tried to run he'd just hit me with his car.

I did the only this I could think of. I jumped. I was so close to the local pond and I figured I could hold my breath long enough for him to think I was dead. It was the only option. The water was slightly frozen and so cold I thought I'd turn into and ice sculpture.

I waved my arms upward so I could force myself to sink to the bottom. It the middle of the night and I was also afraid of the dark. My vision was less than perfect and I had lost my eyeglasses when my body hit the water. This was not good. It had only been a few seconds since I heard his car door slam and his feet against the paved road.

He called out to me and I knew he saw me jump into the water. Although I couldn't see him I knew he was right above me. I didn't know how much longer I could hold my breath, or how much longer he'd stand over the water calling my name. What I did know was that I'd rather die by my own hand.

Seconds passed and I could feel my lung begin to force me to breathe. I used every muscle in my body and all of my willpower to continue holding my breath and position in the ice cold water. I felt as through I was under so long my body was starting to become sore and painfully numb at the same time. Am I gonna die? Is this really it for me? Oh no. I jumped on the water with all of my belongings including my phone and his keys.

The keys I grabbed were to a storage unit where he forced me to keep my car. It had been three years since I last drove. There was an old address book in the glove compartment of my car and I needed it to find the house and telephone number of the friends that would let me stay with him. I lucked out because he'd never been interested in meeting my friends.

Oh God. I heard his car speed away. I was starting to lose consciousness. I didn't even realize he'd given up. How long have I been in here. I took a breath way to soon and took in a bunch of cold disgusting water. I started to panic and choke. I need to swim. Swim to the surface. I kicked my feet with the little strength left in me. I started to scream. My heart was pounding so hard.

I was done. Everything went black. I was close to the surface. Just before I was able to take a breath I had passed out. I was dead. I drowned. I guess my dream did come true. I escaped. Only to kill myself in the end.

I saw white light across my closed eyelids. Everything hurt. I was freezing cold. I could barely move. I opened my eyes and saw nothing but a very blurry white light. If this is the afterlife it's not at all what I expected. I did my best to move my hand to my face to rub my eyes. When I moved my right arm I felt a sharp stinging pain coming from the bend of my elbow. Something scraped against the skin of my wrists.

I started to panic. This is when I started to hear a beep... beep...beep...beep. I'm in a hospital. I have to be. How? It was the middle of the night. How did I end up in the hospital? I rubbed my eyes so much my head started throbbing. I still could hardly see. I tried sitting up. Sharp pains burst all over my body as I slid myself into the sitting position. I looked around what I assumed was my hospital room unable to make out anything but the very bright light.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. At some point a nurse or doctor should be in here to check on me. "Ma'am?". I heard to someone say to the right of me. "Glad to see you're finally awake". We're they talking to me? I wouldn't know because I couldn't see them. I could only hear them close enough for me to know they were next to me and far enough to assume they could be talking to someone else.

My breath caught in my throat when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "It's ok. It's only me. Your doctor. Samuel. Calm down ma'am. I'm just here to check on you and ask a few questions".

I knew a knew a doctor would check on me but is this really how they approach blind people. It must be really scary for them.

I felt another hand and something cold touch my chest. "I just want to listen to your breathing. Make sure there is no longer fluid in your lungs. Apparently you were found floating in a pond. The person that found you called an ambulance and performed C.P.R until the paramedics arrived. Luckily they weren't too far away. Now ma'am I'm gonna need you to breathe in". I took a deep breath and decided to let the doctor do his job.

I'll ask questions later. After Samuel finished his routine he sat beside me for the interrogation. I already told him I couldn't see since he had to check my eyesight. I felt him turn my hand over and place something in it. "Here are some temporary eyeglasses based on your medical chart they are your previous subscription".

I quickly put them on giggling like a school girl. I could finally see other colors besides white. I looked around the room taking everything in and finally resting my eyes on the doctor. "Thank you". I said to him."Of course". He replied.

"So let's begin. "Question one, how are you feeling?". I rolled my eyes. "Obviously like shit". I slapped myself after saying that out loud.