Being Ariel

I became Poseidon's youngest daughter just for one time tonight.

Ganito sya.

I was doing my usual laps at the Kowloon Park Swimming Pool. Kahit pa known cruising place ito sa Hong Kong, deadma lang ako at kuntodo sa pagfrog kick, flip ng fins and everything Ariel would do with her two feet. In the water.

Nang aking masubaybayan si kuyang hindi gaanong kagwapuhan. Chika with a chekwa to his left for quite a while.

After my Nth lap, I noticed wa na silang dalawa sa shallow end. So I thought, ay baka they already hit one of those steamy cubicles - the pool's version of bathhouses' private rooms.

But no. As I was doing my breaststroke for my Oth lap, nakita ko si kuya swimming a few feet ahead of me.

As he was nearing the end of the deep side of the pool, tumigil si kuya, held on to the line and tried to stretch his left leg. He had cramps.

Ay day, I immediately swam faster towards him as I noticed him slowly getting into a panic.

Lapit agad ako and told him to hold on to the line tightly, relax, calm down, hold on to me (and that's when I realized this potato was six foot tall and quite double the size of beautifully petite me.)

And habang lumulubog ako ng konti at nakakainom ng konting tubig rich with chlorine, I asked him to shout for help pag hindi na nya kaya. Aba'y nagwave lang kay mamang lifeguard habang lumalagok ng tubig.

So I did what was necessary: I became his spokesperson and shouted for help.

Mamang lifeguard noticed, threw the salbabida (to the wrong lane) and dove right away. Nasagip naman si kuya although feeling ko nahiya sya kasi tinignan sya ng maraming utraz.

Eeksena pa sana ako kaya lang dinumog na sya ng sandamakmak na lifeguards na kepopogi at kemamacho at itnigims kuntodo. What gives pa diba? Ang mahalaga, he is now safe on land.

So deadma na lang. I finished my last two laps and left.

As I was heading out of the park, I realized how good it felt to help that guy. Kahit hindi pa sya si Eric.

I sheepishly smiled as I hummed my way back to the office:

I don't know when, I don't know how...