Announcement: New short fiction "The Whale Story" published in Litbreak Magazine

The Whale Story

Paul looked round in a daze. The small outdoor stadium felt even emptier now that night had fallen. He couldn’t hear any signs of life in the theme park beyond. It was late enough that even the Marineland workers would be gone, his father would be gone. He went down the steps to the giant unlit pool, pressed his face against the plexiglass cupping his hands around his eyes to see. He couldn’t make anything out except the slight movement of dark water in the breeze. A boy alone by water at night. Did it soothe him or scare him?

He looked up again, wondering if it might start to rain. Then back at the black water in the killer whale’s performance pool.

He went to the step ladder by the side of the pool. Took off his shoes, socks, everything but his boxers, climbed up the three steps. He didn’t even have to jump to hoist himself up and sit straddle over the plexiglass wall. The bare foot on the inner side of the wall a good few feet from the gently moving water below, what looked like a vat of black.

Carefully he steadied himself to release one hand and slowly, awkwardly, pull his outer leg round to the inner side of the pool wall so as to face the water. He inched forward to the very edge, hands still holding tight, his legs reaching down, his feet still a good distance from the water. As he edged off he counted down numbers, counted down again and made the drop. He slid through and down, barely making a splash, his eyes closed, his whole body straight-arrow under, head and all. Underneath, it was deadly quiet except a faint hum, likely the pool’s heater. Paul wanted to go right down and feel the bottom. It was unpleasant when he didn’t. He tried for a few desperate seconds to go deeper, stretching his legs, pointing his toes to graze the bottom of the pool. Not coming close, he quickly rose to the surface. He rubbed stinging water from his eyes and tasted the salt on his lips. Surrounded by high plexiglass walls the only thing Paul could hear was his own breathing.

The entire story can be found here at Litbreak Magazine.