A Stranger in the Village by Sara Alexi

Author:Sara Alexi [Alexi, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-07-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

The pool is perfect for teaching: shallow enough so everyone can stand on the bottom with their heads above water. They scull their hands in the cooling water for no purpose; they seem confident that they are not going to drown or even have any reason to panic. None of them had any difficulty in checking their equipment or putting it on so the morning promises to be an easy one.

Miltos invites them all to dip beneath the surface, and the sudden silence and calm takes him once again. If he could find this feeling somewhere on land, or maybe – and this would be a longer-term solution – find a person who could create that feeling within him, how happy he would be. Then he would settle down without even being conscious of doing so. But this is such a futile thought. His need for this feeling makes him restless and this keeps him moving. As long as he is moving he believes he will find this feeling. But permanently globetrotting means he never stays anywhere long enough to find a person who could create this long-term solution – but then staying somewhere for any length of time makes the feeling unbearable, so he has to move. It is circular, relentless. So, best keep moving. At least then he is in control.

The group are sitting on the bottom waiting for him to begin. With a clear hand movement he invites the first to come close to him. It is Grace. She is trim for her age and looks no different from the other girls in her diving gear. He signs for her to release and retrieve the regulator, which she does with ease, and he gives her the ‘okay’ sign. He can tell that she would not be the sort to panic easily and he wonders why she did not go for her first open-water dive today.

Next he calls up Polly – only, as she draws closer, he sees it is Virginia. They are of similar build and in their masks it is difficult to tell them apart. Her movements are jerky and hesitant, and she is clearly not comfortable in this watery environment. She’ll need more practice time in the pool.

Once they have all released and retrieved the regulator and have surfaced for a quick debrief they submerge again, this time to shed and replace the weight belts. Virginia’s tendency to panic shows again. Polly is remarkably calm, and Paula very agile. The morning proceeds well, and when they have practised a few other important skills they take a break, at which point Miltos finds a light meal all prepared and waiting in the tent. There is no sign of Joshua and the others, who are presumably eating on board the boat.

After lunch, his group practise buddy breathing, changing every three seconds. He teams Virginia with Grace and they make a good diving couple. Everyone is making good progress. Another day in the pool and he would be happy to take them for a brief open-water dive.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.