MackenzieFowler

      They came running at the sound of a large splash. This was the fourth time Breauna’s parents had to drag her small frame out from the pool. Each time, the she cried harder than the last. No matter how much her mother tried to console her, Breauna’s tear continued to flow. Despite the constant warnings from her stepfather about staying away from the deep end, that forbidden side beckoned her.

     

      The family had moved into the home a few months ago. Not even a day had gone by before the wide-eyed four-year old made her way towards the pool for the first time. It was covered haphazardly, putrid green water lapping dangerously around the sides. Breauna trotted towards the deepest side and plopped down on her knees. Peering over the edge, she began to reach for the pool cover, losing her balance in the process and falling into darkness. This marked the day it all began.

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      “Has she stopped crying yet?” her stepfather asks. Breauna’s mother responds by saying she finally fell asleep on her brother’s lap. Their hushed whispers that could honestly be heard throughout the neighborhood filled the otherwise quiet house.

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      “This is the fourth time this has happened.”

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      “I know –”

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      “Why does she insist on going to the pool when no one is out there?”

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      “I don’t –”

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      “Should we put some sort of childproof lock on the back door?”

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      “No, that’s a bit much.”

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      Sighing, the stepfather replies, “Then what do you suggest, Tracy?”

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      “Maybe we should start by trying to figure out why she keeps falling into the pool” suggests her mother.

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      “Well for starters, the kid has a watermelon head. The weight is probably too much for her to handle when trying to look over the side of the pool, so she just falls right in.”

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      “Michael!” the mother exclaims, “Breauna’s does not have a big head! She just has really fat cheeks.”

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      “You’re just mad because she got her big head from you. Anyways, what do you think she’s trying to look at?”

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      “I don’t know. Maybe she dropped something in again.”

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      Suddenly, a small voice says, “No…” Breauna slowly makes her way from around the corner where she had been standing. Simultaneously, her parents ask her what it is she keeps looking for. “There was someone in the water.  She looked sad, so I wanted to comfort her. She’s always by herself. She says that I’m all she has. I have to be there for her.” Silence fills the room. Neither parent knew how to respond, and in the end, they wrote it off as being an imaginary friend.