Let's Pretend
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Pool days are my favorite days!
I like to go to the public pool, where I can make new friends and play games in the water. |
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Another kid is wheeling towards to pool. Her mermaid tail looks very real!
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She climbs down from her wheelchair and sits next to me.
"Do you want to play together?" I ask her. |
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She smiles and shakes her head up and down. That means that she wants to play.
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I take off my prosthesis and leave it at the side of the pool.
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Later, another kid swims up to us. He wants to play too.
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"Can we pretend that we are in the ocean?" he asks.
The girl gives us a very big grin. "That sounds like fun!" I say. |
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The three of us swim to the bottom of the pool. We don't see the smooth, white concrete pool bottom.
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We see the ocean floor, full of color and shapes.
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After while, we decide to play a new game.
I kick my foot and hold my hands up, like a fin. The boy begins to pretend too. Now, we are not kids. |
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We are dolphins. The girl laughs as she swims. She looks very happy.
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Time for a few game!
We swim to the surface of the water. The girl pretends to hold a telescope. "Ahoy!" I say. |
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We are ship captains, searching for far away land.
The girl points to her wheelchair. It is time for her to go home. |
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We all get out of the pool to say goodbye. I ask her if she needs help taking off her mermaid tail.
She smiles and shakes her head from side to side, kindly telling me 'No' without words. |
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Maybe that mermaid tail was real.
Maybe some things today were not pretend! |
