Have You Ever

“You don’t want to come in Taylor?” The little girl shook her head, bringing her knees up to her chest as her mom sighed, “What’s wrong Taylor?” Her mom asked, her tone worried, “I thought that you loved swimming?”

Taylor nodded, “I do mama! I do like swimming! I just don’t want to do it today.” She answered as she started to play with the white sand that surrounded her.

Her mom smiled at her four-year-old daughter, turning to look at Lake Alskling for a moment, “Stay here, ok Taylor? I don’t want you running off anywhere.” She warned her daughter before she dove into the cool water. Taylor watched as her mom started to swim around the lake, stunned by how beautiful her mother looked in the water. She was so elegant. Every stroke she took looked like she had practiced for hours, planning on which moves go perfectly with the next.

Taylor hardly noticed as her mom froze, her foot caught on a large piece of kelp under the water. She barely saw as her mom desperately dove under the lake in attempt to free her left foot, but only ending up getting the other stuck too. She could barely hear her mom as she swam back up to the surface, calling out for help.

However, Taylor did notice when the current dragged her mom under the water, the kelp fastening itself even more around her legs, “Mom?” Taylor called out when her mom didn’t resurface for a couple of seconds, “Mama? Where are you!” She screamed, standing up from where she sat. Taylor ran out towards the lake, going as far into the water as her little legs could take here, “Mama?” She yelled, turning around to look for someone who could help, “Come!” Taylor yelled at a passing man, who quickly turned to look at the terrified child, “Please, come! My mama’s gone!” She screamed, tears starting to fall down her pale cheeks.

The man instantly understood, running out into the water to try and find the little girl’s mom. He swam out into the middle of the lake, searching for the girl’s mother.

He finally found her half an hour later. The kelp had wrapped itself completely around her legs, her attempt to free herself had only made it worse. The kelp had knotted itself around her ankles and knees so many times that it took ten more minutes for the man to finally pull her out.

But then, of course, it was too late.

As the man pulled Taylor’s mom up to shore, the little girl first didn’t understand what was wrong with her mother. She laid there motionless, her lips blue and her skin white, “Mama?” Taylor whispered, watching as the man walked over to stand by the four-year-old girl, “Mister? Is she ok?” Taylor asked, her eyes now red and swollen from crying so hard.

The man looked down at the little girl, slowly shaking his head after a few moments of silence.

Taylor didn’t understand, but she knew that something was wrong with her mother. Something was horribly wrong. So, as the man pulled out his cell phone to call 9-1-1, Taylor ran up to her still mother and fell on top of her chest, sobbing into her soaked bathing suit, “No,” Taylor cried, “Mamma, wake up!” She screamed, wrapping her fingers around her mother’s hand as she sobbed.

The man came up and pulled Taylor away from her dead mother when the ambulance came, telling her that she was going to be all right. He bent down on one knee and hugged the little girl, who instantly fell into his warm embrace. Taylor pressed her head against his wet shirt, sobbing into his shoulder. She didn’t watch as the people put her mom onto a stretcher, all of them with a sorrowful expression on their face.

They all knew that there was nothing that they could do to save the little girl’s mother, and, suddenly, Taylor understood that too.