New Dream Adventures of Raven Knight

2017, 06-06

Night Swim

I am at the swimming pool at the local YMCA with my friend Alicia. We are outside the main pool area, waiting to get in. Alicia pays her admission fee and goes in. I go to pay and I give the guy in the office the usual $1.50. He says it’s $1.75 now. I do a double take, but then I decide that’s not really that much of an increase, and I hand over the extra quarter. I follow Alicia into the pool area. There are people in our usual spot so we go to the other side of the pool where there’s an area I didn’t know about, with some of the plastic chaise lounges. I go to get one, glad they have the hard ones that don’t stick to my skin. Alicia prefers the soft ones and goes to find one.

When I get mine back to our spot I see Alicia already has what she wanted. Alicia wants to go get in the pool but it’s not open just yet, it’s being cleaned. I see someone has a bunch of Pokémon cards laid out to trade, so I take some Pokémon cards of my own from my bag and spread them out. The other guy has a lot of cards I wish I had. The pool opens and he ignores the cards to go jump in the pool. We haven’t been in the pool for long when the lifeguards say it needs cleaning again, everyone out. The guy who’d left his Pokémon cards spread out gets frustrated and leaves without coming back for his cards. I go over and start collecting all of the cards, both his and mine. I figure if he comes back I’ll say I collected them to keep them safe and return them. If he doesn’t come back, they’re all mine.

The pool is still closed, and Alicia is nowhere to be seen. So I leave the pool carrying a bag that contains my towel, sunscreen, and the two stacks of Pokémon cards I now have. I look around the rest of the YMCA for a bit, trying to find Alicia. There is no actual gym, just a lot of people climbing tall rock walls. I don’t notice that as strange and I don’t find Alicia. I go back to the pool area and look through the fence. Alicia is still in there, I feel dumb for not finding her sooner. I go to return to the pool but the man at the office window says I have to pay. That’s annoying since I already paid. He says I left, so I have to pay again. I take out my wallet and he says admission is $10. No way! I refuse to pay that. I go around the other side of the pool area and find a way through the fence, so I sneak back in for free.

I notice it is getting dark and the underwater pool lights come on. Alicia is swimming and the water where she moves glows, looking very cool. I put my things down and I get in the pool. I start doing all kinds of underwater dance moves. After I do a move I can look and see a light reflection of myself doing the move I just finished. The strange glow has the effect of making my rather unimpressive dance moves look really cool. Alicia is doing the same thing. But I notice I can’t seem to hold my breath for very long. It’s as if I am compelled to take a breath while still underwater. This seems disturbing to me, but I go along with it and I don’t go under for very long. I am still playing in the pool with my light reflections when everything fades and I wake up.