Untitled

by Laila Virjl, age 13

The water of the lake tickled my toes as I stepped into the water. Night swims were my favorite; I loved how the stars cast a glow upon the water and the feeling of being alone, swimming in the cold. I didn’t mind being alone, for I never got lonely. I had my thoughts and the fish. I swam further out, somewhere I’d never gone before. There were stars speckling the sky and illuminating the cave a few feet in front of me.The cave was lined with moss, and it smelled murky and sour, but its mysterious feel urged me to swim closer and closer to it. There was something about it that felt like a friend, a warm hug. Of course, being 23 and never having a friend, you’d think the feeling of friendship was lost upon me. But no, I could feel comfort in the walls. I held my breath and swam underwater, going deeper into the cave. I couldn’t see anything besides the faint glow of the stars and my arms frantically swimming deeper and deeper into the cave. “Uh… hi?” I called into the cave. I wanted to be sure I was alone.All I could hear was my voice ricocheting off the damp walls. That was the only thing I heard until the sound of a waterfall and my shriek as I fell down, down, down. I was enraptured by the waterfall’s beauty, at least for the split second I saw it before I got sucked into a whirlpool at the bottom of the waterfall. My head was spinning and all I could taste was the stale water until I could taste nothing. I wasn’t swimming in the cave anymore, nor was I falling down the waterfall or getting sucked down a whirlpool. I could smell metal so strongly, it was almost as if I could taste it. I was

134 Cartoons for all eternity • Caricaturas por toda la eternidad

lying on my back on what seemed like gravel, staring up at a sky full of stars. And for the first time, I was lightyears away from any civilization, any discomfort. I could never see a human again. “Aaah!” I exclaimed, feeling a cool sensation on my arm. I looked over and saw that it was nothing but freezing cold water that didn’t seem to have an end for miles. I didn’t want to go back. If I stayed here, alone, the rest of my life, I would be content. The stars looked different here, almost like crystals, and they were much closer, therefore much brighter. It was almost as if I could just reach up and grab one . . . And then, just like that, it was in my palm. The stars were no longer out of reach. Anything seemed possible here, besides human interaction THANKFULLY.The star crystal was a faded pink that sparkled and glowed. I smelled it. It smelled like birthday cake. Although I’d never once been invited to a birthday party, I had bought cakes for my birthday and devoured them. What if I bit into the star crystal? I was quite hungry; I planned on ordering take-out after the swim.The star crystal tasted like nothing, but the texture felt like a more dense version of water. And it felt AMAZING.

December 2022 135