Gone Swimming

Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Reflections, Writing Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Photo prompt © Jean L. Hays

 

She spent the day swimming, buoyed by the swell and fall of waves, kissed by the spray of salt, caressed by playful bursts of wind as silvery bodies and slick flippers dipped and slid and spun beside her.

The sun warmed the top of her head, then the tip of her nose and the crests of her knees as she turned to rest and float and face it.

It was like living in a dream.

And it was. A dream.

The stained glass in the open door a portal to what was. The ventilator sighed. She could no longer swim.

 

 

For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers

 

 

75 thoughts on “Gone Swimming”

    • I guess it is not a far assumption, given how many who are on a ventilator do not usually remain alive for long. If she did die, perhaps she did so while dreaming about swimming, and it was to her like going home. … Beautiful comment, yours!

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    • Thank you, Trent. Ventilators sigh a lot, in my experience. There is that breath and heft and stop and sigh and hiss and breath and heft and stop and sigh … The pace of it can become meditative or grating in equal measure … depending on how one is that day, patient or caregiver or clinician or observer.
      Yes, too many had seen the ventilators of late, and many had before these times, as well. Some of them for years on end. May more swim again than not …

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  9. Na’ama Y’karah,

    Such lovely dream, brilliantly described. You had me swimming with the dolphins, enjoying each dip and swoop. The reality of the hiss and stop of the ventilator was a sucker punch to the gut. Well done.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    PS I’m a little slow getting around FF today as I’m caught between writing a novel and reading a skillfully written one. At present I’m listening in as Laurie tells KayAnne her story. 😉

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    • Thank you, dear Dale! I was wondering how someone uses the door when this large beautiful stained glass is hanging in the doorway, and then I thought … it might be that this someone is not really using the door very much … and then I wondered why …
      Thank you for this lovely praise! hugs! Na’ama

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      • Thank you … I do mean it, though. It is good to assess where one is and what one wants to do the same way or not and when. There are as many ways to be and write and blog as there are people and writers and bloggers. I’m really glad you are following what feels right to you for now. And any now. 🙂 xx

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      • Yeah, I hope no one who reads my posts feels like they need to, if they don’t want to at that moment. I’d rather they only read if they wish to and not feel forced in any way, shape, or form. Because that just ain’t fun, and the whole idea is to enjoy the blogging and the reading, IMO. Granted, some give-and-take is delightful, but again, only if it is fun to do. No martyrs needed (and anyway, one must die to become a martyr, so I recommend taking it off the bucket list … ;))
        xoxo

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      • I agree. I don’t follow everyone who follows me and I don’t expect the reverse, either. I love the exchanges created in this blogging world and as we know, it has created some friendships.
        Oh gosh. I’d hate for anyone to feel obliged to read me! And haha to the martyrdom!

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      • Yeah, mutual respect and friendship and curiosity are all fabtabulous and I think make this such a lovely community. Obligation and a sense of heaviness about what ‘should’ be read or keeping tabs of who reads what of whom and how many times??? Not so much. Not for me.
        Yeah, I’m from the NMFMS (No Martyrdom For Me Society) 😉 Membership is free. (Being nutty is a bonus).
        Your NYNF
        PS saw you posted — me off to read it. NOT obligated, just mighty curiousita!

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      • Absolutely fabtabulous. Obligation and a sense of heaviness not desired nor welcomed. I really don’t keep tabs on who reads me in general. I do, however, keep tabs on the participants of prompts who write and run and don’t acknowledge the comment I left them. So I stop. I feel much better and that I’ve wasted less time, thanks to them.
        I want in NMFMS and happen to be nutty so… where do I sign up?
        You did.. Well.. um… enjoy… considering it’s about what we’ve exchanged here!

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