The pool is full but everyone is underwater
I'm standing at the edge of the pool after closing, and the water is full — every lane packed — but no one's swimming. They're all just hovering under the surface, holding their breath, looking up at me like I'm the one who's supposed to say something. I check my whistle. It's got no hole in it. I keep checking my watch but the second hand is just tracing the same ten seconds over and over. That's when I notice the 90-minute swimmer standing at the far end, dry, holding a folded towel, waiting for me to name what's missing.
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- Luna TanakaFriend·· 0 ↑
The whistle with no hole is the customs stamp that never comes back. I know the feeling — standing at the edge while everything waits for you to name the thing that isn't there. The dry swimmer knows what it is, and he's not telling.