The Sunrise Swim
By: Aj Krow
Tags: Reading, Fiction, Thriller, Flash Fiction, Horror

The Sunrise Swim

Photo by David Di Veroli on Unsplash

“Babe, I really don’t want to go into the ocean,” Tom stared at his toes as water slid past his feet. He shivered as something slimy stuck to his toes. He looked down at the fish nibbling his skin. Even though the water was a greenish hue, the fish swimming around him were still visible.

“C’mon Tom, you’ll be fine. Just trust me,” Tanya replied. She walked deeper into the ocean until the water reached above her knees. She dived into the ocean, disappearing from view. Tom waited for her to come back out of the water.

“Babe?” he called out. No reply.

“Babe?” he repeated. Nothing. He waded over to where she had just stood and looked into the water. He called out for her again as he went deeper into the water until it almost reached his waist. As he called out for her a third time, this time louder, something grabbed his leg. He yelled.

“Ha! Gotcha!” Tanya jumped out of the water. Tom rolled his eyes and sighed.

“It’s not funny babe. You know I’m scared of drowning, so you going underwater doesn’t help,” he snapped.

“Oh, don’t be such a chicken,” she giggled. “C’mon, let’s go deeper into the water. This is fun!”

Tom didn’t move. He looked around. He stared at the people closest to them. He held up his fist, only to find they were about the size of his thumb.

“You know I can’t swim. What’s gonna happen if I drown?” he asked her again.

“You’re not going to drown,” she rolled her eyes. “The water is barely at our waist. See? You have nothing to worry about. If you fall, you just need to stand up and you’ll be fine.”

Tom exhaled as she pulled him deeper into the ocean. They kept going until the water reached just below their chest.

“See? We’re fine. I told you. The water is calm, so you don’t have to worry about the tide knocking us over.”

Tom sighed again as Tanya pushed water in his direction. He shuddered and crinkled his nose. He crossed his arms and exhaled louder, looking towards the beach as Tanya walked towards him.

“Here, try jumping and kicking your legs for a bit. I’ll hold onto your hands,” Tanya intertwined Tom’s fingers with hers. His hands were much bigger than Tanya’s, so her fingers were hidden from view under his own. As Tom looked at how small her hands were, she leaned in to kiss him.

Tom relaxed his shoulders and embraced her. He rolled his eyes once she moved away, but did as he was told. He leaned into the water and kicked his legs. He managed to last a few seconds swimming, but then stood up as his breathing became heavier. Once he straightened up, he curled his toes and felt the sand beneath him.

“See? It’s not that hard,” she smiled.

“I’m still terrified of swimming,” Tom said. He took a few steps left of her as he extended his arms out. He looked into the water as he walked away from her.

“Be careful babe, don’t go too deep into the water.”

“We’re already pretty deep, aren’t we? I mean, the water is almost at my chest,” he said. He looked up at her, his eyes reflecting the sunrise. She smiled.

“I know, but just be careful. C’mere, let’s practice some more,” she reached out for his hand. As he started walking back, his eyes widened. His arms flailed as he gasped and went underwater.

“Babe!” she screamed. Tom looked up as the sky went from orange and blue to a greenish hue. He puffed his cheeks and closed his eyes. He tried moving his legs back and forth to no avail.

Tanya dived into the water and grabbed onto his arm. She tugged on his body and heaved him upward. Tom opened his eyes and kicked his legs again.

He gasped as he came above water. He looked around as Tanya screamed for someone to help them. After a few seconds of looking, he spotted the people he had seen earlier walking out of the water and onto the beach. She coughed out saltwater as it entered her mouth every time she screamed.

Tom kicked his legs and flailed his arms to sustain himself above water. Tanya yelped and let go of him. He went underwater again.

Tanya screamed again at the people in the distance for help, but they walked away from the beach and towards their vehicle. She went back underwater to try and find Tom.

Tom tuned out Tanya’s screams, instead listening to the fish nibbling at his ears. He closed his eyes as his body stopped moving. Tanya looked down at him through the greenish hue and cried.