520 words
Time of writing, May 13th, 2026
Separated from her family, she allowed herself to relax,
to be truthful,
to herself,
and to the patient man in front of her.
As the childlike giggles of her husband mirrored those of her children grew in distance,
her shoulders squared off with the teacher in front of her,
as the reality of the chlorine water at her sternum grew solid.
Still short of breath from encountering water in her scuba diving mask,
she tried to laugh off her anxiety,
to put on a brave face.
“Will you join me in a breathing exercise before we try again?” he asked.
“Sure,” she replied, nodding her head enthusiastically.
“So,” he started by turning his watch at an angle that both of them could see its dial, “we will breathe in for five seconds, and then breathe out for seven seconds.”
Her nods of approval eased, and her smile grew.
“Breathe in, two, three, four, and… breathe out two, three, four, five, six, and…”
Her eyes softened as the white lacquered seconds hand travelled across the ceramic dial, and all of the noise of the public pool melted away. The smell of the rubber gear, chlorinated water, and hum from the ventilation system drew to a standstill as her eyes closed.
“… breathe in, two, three, four, and breath out two, three, four, five, six, seven. How do you feel?”
“Much better. You are very reassuring,” she said with a calm she had not felt all weekend.
“Thank you, that means a lot. Now, shall we try a few more exercises to see what’s wrong?”
“Absolutely!”
The next twenty minutes were spent narrowing down her source of anxiety, all the while using the white lacquered seconds hand underwater to time her progress.
“I know it is not the sales pitch you’d expect from a dive shop, but,” he said as they surfaced with a clear idea that her fear of water was not going to be conquered in one session, “all of this is absolutely unnecessary. If anyone tries to pressure you to get in the water, to go snorkelling, or to go diving, it is your right to say no. Even I don’t go on many dives and prefer to support the group from the boat or the shore.”
“Thanks,” she said as she glanced over at her husband, who was splashing in the shallow end like a Golden Retriever puppy, slowly approaching. Her body language had her shifting her stance towards the teacher, placing him between her and her husband.
“Thank you so much,” she said, pausing with her posture becoming taller and more confident. “I will try some of what we tried here at a pool before our trip. But now I feel better about the trip and don’t feel the same pressure as before.”
As the students, lifeguards and other instructors vacated the deck, the teacher sat on his knees, slowly putting away his gear, as he exhaled for seven seconds before another instructor broke his concentration.
“I just heard the highest praise for you from that student. Thank you so much for coming today!”