Doing Laps

A Story by my inspirational sister - Rumplestiltskrin :)

A guy cheerily greets her at the gate saying either pool is fine, there's plenty of free lanes and no squad classes this morning.  She says "great - thanks" and hands over $5.40 and heads straight for the empty lane of the outdoor pool.  The air is warm and the sky above a velvety navy sparkling with stars and a sideways-smile moon.  She dumps her towel and wades right in, happy to discover the water is warmer than expected.

Lap One.

As she kicks her way up the pool she laughs to herself; how the hell did I come to be doing this anyway? She can't even swim for starters, and is clutching onto a kickboard with her head safely sticking out moving slowly along powered only by her legs thrashing relentlessly.  Her back still aches when her board hits the other end at the 50m mark so she attempts backstroke all the way back again.

Lap Two.

Come on girl, just do it, a bit more practice and you might actually get the hang of this; is the encouraging inner dialogue that pushes her on.

Lap Three.

She's starting to feel hungry, this makes her resent the fact she's unable to do her usual regime of crossfit training due to the back injury.  She worries about overeating and gaining weight.  Meanwhile the sky has lightened by degrees, a pink tinge creeping up the horizon and the birds are calling morning songs as they fly overhead.  She realises how indescribably beautiful it is and her heart is spontaneously filled with appreciation.

Lap Four.

Despite the beauty surrounding her there is now an massive ache of something missing.  Beyond the other lane-ropes are dedicated early morning swimmers doing lap, upon lap, upon lap.  They look neither to the right or left, their faces only flashing to the surface for an instant to get air, completely absorbed in their training.  She considers that perhaps she is lonely without her brother and sister that usually accompany her. 

Lap Five.

But normally solitude is no problem so perhaps she isn't really lonely, perhaps it's just the weather.  She always gets a restless feeling at the turn of the season and imagines herself roaming the place like a wolf howling at the moon.  She remembers herself this time last year, her back wasn't sore but she'd been deeply mired in painful heartbreak that had been like ripping a limb from her body with her own hands.  A quote surfaces in her mind that goes - you don't have a soul, you are a soul and you have a body.  My soul is still going strong she decides. 

Lap Six.

The sunrise is complete in all it's glory, every second the day becomes brighter.  The lights by the pool flick off.  That's it she decides, it's time to put her head down and really try to swim.

BY RUMPLESTILTSKRIN

Author's Note

:) PLEASE Leave a comment or two for my sister!! :)

Reviews

[Vernika]

That's a nice little story! I really like the idea of sun rising and morning taking over the night sky. Sort of reflects hope and perfection rising with each lap.Great work! :)

[Stan Lee]

Thank you so much for your kind words Vernika. Much appreciated :) Stay Inspired!

[Troy Henson]

I enjoyed this a lot. Training hard isnt easy and when you put your body through the riggers of such an intense program mind over matter must come ingo play. Within this piece its apparent she has a lot on her mind outside of swimming....as i am someone who trains hard for a lot of reasons i know what its like to train, sèe others around me, carry with me burdens of days gone by but somehow i manage to use these negatives to push on and drive harder. This story holds a keen message.....no matter what is happening in life find within yourself the fire to succeed as you are your own worst critic and competitor.

[Stan Lee]

Thank you so much Troy. I really appreciate you taking the time to read and review my sisters work. You are absolutely correct in your interpretation. Thanks for your insightful comments. :)

[Taylor]

Clearly talent runs in your family. A really nice story -- I kept expecting the "swimmer" to drown, but I'm glad she didn't! My only suggestion is perhaps to start with dialogue between the pool's gatekeeper and the swimmer, instead of summarizing. Great job.

[Stan Lee]

Thank you Taylor, for your kind review and the suggestion. I'm glad she didn't drown too. :)

[Not here]

lol i have to do cross country and i HATE laps running. but this summer when i have to swim laps and train to be a lifeguard, ill just think... remember that story about laps?

[Stan Lee]

Thanks for your feedback Dante. :) ...That's the way.... just. keep. going. :)

[Captain Rilen]

Very inspirational :) So much power and positive energy were conveyed in this piece. Honestly, I can feel the Willpower of the writer glowing and manifesting itself in their writing. Great Work!

[Stan Lee]

Thank you for your kind review Kirk. Very encouraging :)