During these blazing summer days, the heat is unbearable, and all I want is to dive into a swimming pool. One day, I wanted to go to the pool, which was quite far from our home, so it didn’t feel right going there alone.

My dad was at work, and I waited for him eagerly, but he arrived only when the sun had gone down.

As he put his bag down on the table, he asked, “Ayaan, could you fetch me some water?”

I nodded, handed him the water, and asked, “Dad, are you free tomorrow? I really want to go to that swimming pool — remember the one I always ask you about?”

He finished drinking and replied, “We’ll set another day for that. When I get a day off from work, we’ll take the whole family along. But tomorrow isn’t possible since weekdays are always very busy at work.”

“Okay, but don’t forget that,” I said, and left.

The next day, it was again very hot, with the sun directly overhead. It felt like the sun refused to let anyone step outside, yet people kept working despite the heat. As I was daydreaming about the swimming pool, my aunt and her two sons — Ali and Veer, my best buddies since childhood — came over.

I jumped in excitement and greeted them. My buddies and I began playing games for a while until my sister firmly told us to stop because of the racket we were making.

“So what are we supposed to do then?” I asked.

“Why don’t you guys go outside and play?” she suggested.

Just then, an idea hit me. I told my cousins about the swimming pool I knew of. They were super excited, and we decided to head there. After a 30-minute walk, we finally reached there, we were met with disappointment. The pool was already booked, and they weren’t letting in any more people that day.

Now we had to find another one. The second pool? Same story. But we refused to give up. Finally, we found a pool that wasn’t booked — but the crowd there was enormous.

Ali suggested, “Ayaan, I think we should head back home; it’s too crowded.”

“What? We’ve walked all this way for nothing?” I replied.

Saying that, I bought three tickets and dove straight into the water. It was icy cold. We spun around, splashing water into each other’s faces, laughing with every hit. We even raced — I came in first, with Veer finishing second.

After nearly two hours in the water, I noticed Ali’s eyes had turned red. Soon, the same thing happened to me — my eyes were red too, though not as bad as his.

We finally got out of the pool, feeling incredibly hungry. The three of us went over to the corner and grabbed some samosas, but they didn’t taste as good as we’d expected. We were completely exhausted but still had to walk home.

When we reached my home’s main door, we paused — drenched, clothes soaked through, hair dripping, and still tingling from soaking so long in the water.

As we stepped inside, I saw my sister and cousins sitting together, chatting loudly. But the moment they saw us, my sister exclaimed, “Oh my God! You guys took forever! Dad called — he was asking about you! And just look at you! Why are your eyes so red? Go wash them, quickly!”

Even after washing our eyes a couple of times, the redness didn’t go away. We had lunch, and soon after, all of us felt feverish. Our heads were pounding, and our stomachs hurt. Soon my aunt left with her boys. I was so weak I could barely stand and stayed in bed.

A few hours later, my dad came into the room. He saw me lying there, pale and sluggish. He came closer, placed a hand on my forehead, and his eyes widened in shock.

He turned to the others and asked, “He was perfectly fine in the morning — how did he end up like this?”

“He went swimming with his cousins in the afternoon when the sun was at its peak,” my sister replied.

With a furious look, my dad turned back to me and exclaimed, “Are you nuts?”

I was too weak to answer, barely able to say a word. He got up and gave me some medicine.

The next day, I survived on just bread and tea, but my condition wasn’t improving. Eventually, Dad took me to the hospital.

My dad explained everything to the doctor, who said, “It’s too dangerous to go to crowded pools. They often aren’t properly cleaned, which can lead to serious infections.”

That’s exactly what happened to us — the heat, the crowd, and the unhygienic conditions all combined to make us sick. The doctor gave me an injection and prescribed some medicines.

A couple of days passed, and with the new medicine, I finally began to feel like myself again. Everyone was overjoyed, especially my friends, because now I could play with them again. After what I had gone through, I was sure my dad had completely ruled out the idea of ever going to a pool again.

But I was stunned when he suddenly announced after a week, “Everyone get ready, we’re going for a pool picnic tomorrow!”

I rushed to him and asked, “Are you sure this is a great idea? Do you remember what happened to me?”

He smiled and replied, “Relax, Ayaan. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve already instructed them to clean every corner of the pool thoroughly. The pool is maintained exclusively for private bookings, so everything will be clean and safe.”

The next day, we went to the pool and saw everything was perfect. We had an amazing time — we took pictures, splashed water on each other, and enjoyed a delicious feast. Best of all, when we came back home, no one fell sick. Everyone was happy and relieved.

So if you are already planning a pool party or picnic, just make sure the pool has been properly cleaned and is not a very public place. Otherwise, you might end up suffering the way I did.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 16th, 2025