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The dream
My exams had finished and my summer vacations had just begun. The heat in Karachi was at its peak. As we were really bored, my father got my brother and I admitted to a summer camp which offered training in outdoor games including swimming. I was very anxious for the camp to begin.
But on the opening day I was a little nervous. I enjoyed playing all the games. Swimming was scheduled as the last activity of the day and by the time the swimming class began, I had cold feet. When the class began, we were first to form a queue in the order we were to go into the water. The first girl who went in started yelling that the water was too deep. This frightened me even more, and I decided that I would never swim.
So, that day I did not go into the pool and just sat on the deck watching the other kids take their first lesson. The result was even worse; I was scolded by my parents for not taking that day's lesson, and thus wasting the entire day.
At night when I went to bed after all that had happened that day, my mind was in a complete mess. After a lot of tossing and turning I went to sleep.
When I woke up I saw myself on the beach. I was much taller and older. It was a very hot day but there weren't many people on the beach. In fact, there were no people where I was standing; they were on the other side of the beach. Suddenly, I heard someone screaming. I saw that a small girl was drowning! I tried to help her but what could I have done, since I didn't know how to swim? I called for help, but there were no lifeguards around. By the time the people managed to rescue her, the child had died.
I felt miserable. It was my fault the girl had died. If only in my childhood I had not been foolish and had learnt how to swim, today I could have saved someone's life. I wouldn't have let a fellow human being die like that, right in front of my eyes. At this thought I started crying.
I woke up with a sudden jump, sweating and crying at the same time. I was in my room, not on the beach. I thanked God that no such accident had taken place. I promised Him that after learning how to swim I would use my skill to save other peoples' lives. After that I went to bed again and when I woke up in the morning I felt quite confident about myself. I realised that I was even less frightened of water now than I was earlier. In a few days, after a little hard work and with a bit of a suntan I had learnt how to swim!
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