Chapter 13
"Daddy, can you save Jack Walker’s aunt?" a little girl looked up at me. Kristina quickly interjected, "Lily, don’t be silly! Don’t listen to her!" It was the first time I had seen Kristina so serious.
However, looking at the little girl’s hopeful expression, I found myself saying, "Okay, I’ll go save her!"
"Are you crazy?" Kristina grabbed my hand. "Don’t be impulsive."
I gently patted her hand. "My ’daughter’ asked me for the first time. How can I, as a father, refuse? This is also a good time to set an example for the child."
Without further ado, I slipped from her grasp, kicked off my shoes, and dove into the water.
"William!"
"Daddy..." The cries of the two women echoed behind me, followed by the exclamations from the shore, "Get a lifebuoy, bring down a lifebuoy!"
The situation was critical, but a lifebuoy would only slow me down. I had grown up near a river and was a skilled swimmer, which gave me the confidence to jump in.
Soon, I passed the struggling man and dove towards the spot where the woman had disappeared. The shouts from the shore faded, replaced by the sound of the churning lake water.
The lake water was clear, and the visibility was high due to the good weather. Underwater, I searched desperately, praying that she hadn’t sunk to the bottom. The lake bed was riddled with hidden passages, making it nearly impossible to find someone once they had sunk.
The deeper I dove, the greater the pressure became. My head began to throb, and my eardrums felt like they were about to burst. The oxygen in my lungs was rapidly depleting, and the lack of oxygen made my lungs feel as if they were on the verge of explosion.