Submerged in water, I dare open my eyes.
I catch her face through the water looking back at me with an ear to ear grin.
The drifting pool water distorts her features, but I can still make out a hand waving at me.
Our hair billows behind our heads like a lion’s mane.
After hours in the pool, our fingers have been reduced to prunes.
But not even that can make us leave the pool.
I catch her mouth move, but all I hear are gurgles.
I reply back, letting my last breath of air escape me through air bubbles that tickle my face.
My lungs beg for oxygen and I suddenly jerk up, gasping for air.
I see her do the same.
The scorching sun beats down on us, making us want to dip down again.
But before w do, I ask her, “What did you say to me?”
She replies with giggles, “I said that we are going to be best friends forever.”
As cheesy as that sounds, that moment back in the fourth grade, I knew that was a promise was on that we will never break.