Near Mishap

Daily Prompt: By the Skin of your Teeth
Share a time when you narrowly avoided disaster.
Show ESCAPE.

After my mother’s death my younger brother and I lived for a few months with our elder uncle. We came back to live with father. My younger brother was three years old at that time. Father couldn’t cope with him so he left him with our grandmother. My brother would run after any woman, crying and calling, “Mama, mama”. It was heartbreaking watching him.

Father then decided to put me in a boarding school. On the way there we stopped for lunch at a rest house. A fast running river was right beside it. It turned inside a little bit and then outside again.

The water was clear and you could see a lot of fishes, big and small flitting inside this man made estuary.

After we had lunch we came out and stood watching the fishes. The path was wet where we were standing. I was fascinated by the fishes and edged a little bit forward. I don’t remember how it happened my foot slipped, and with a scream I went headlong into the water to join the fishes. It was a terrifying moment. I was gulping water.

My elder brother got hold of my one foot. He tried to drag me out but the place was slippery and in all likelihood he would have been pulled inside the water too. Both of us didn’t know swimming. Father alerted by the scream came and helped to pull me out.

My father and brother kept hugging me, thankful for my narrow escape. I would have drowned.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/prompt-skin/
Near Mishap