Читать книгу Funny, but True - - Страница 7

In Kipling’s The Jungle Book, there’s a chilling scene where the giant python Kaa hunts the Bandar-log. Paralyzed with fear, Bandear-log is unable to move to escape. That image stayed with me as it reminded me of a moment from my childhood. I, too, was frozen, unable to run or cry. Like the Bandar log, I was motionless, gripped by fear. That memory has haunted me ever since.

I was six years old. I stayed with my grandmother in a small village near Moscow. It was mid-July, the hottest time of the year. The air was sweltering, and the river water was warm. Like any children at the beach today, we spent our days in the water, splashing and playing. We couldn’t swim, but that didn’t stop us from spending hours wading in the shallows.

The day when it happened, I ventured out to the middle of the river. It was thrilling to feel the current pushing against me. The river was shallow, and the water only reached my shoulders. I felt safe. Letting the current carry me downstream was pure joy. Then, suddenly, my feet slipped off the riverbed. I reached down with my legs, desperately trying to find solid ground. The current dragged me forward, but I managed to touch the bottom again. I stood on my toes, my nose barely above the waterline. I was petrified.

I knew that any movement could make me lose the bottom again, and I would drown. I could see people just a few meters away. But I couldn’t call out for help. Fear had me frozen.

The moment lasted only a minute or two. But it felt like an eternity. Finally, the current pushed me forward again, and my shoulders emerged above the waterline. I rushed out of the river, gasping and trembling. That was the last day I went into the water that summer.

The following year, I learned how to swim. Today, I can swim confidently in lakes, rivers, and oceans. I can swim for over an hour without stopping. But sometimes, I feel the same fear creep in. I stop swimming, head for the shore, and rush out of the water.The memory of that moment – those hunting memories from my childhood – still lingers, vivid and alive.