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Swimming through fear 1 I was on a tour of France with my friends when our car pulled to a stop at the beach and we saw the Mediterranean Sea. Massive waves surged against large rocks that formed a waterproof jetty. People said this beach was known for its notorious rip currents. I shivered with fear. Nothing scared me as much as water. 2 Just the sight of the sea made me sick to my stomach. 3 I'd always loved water and been a good swimmer until last summer when I'd decided to climb up to the highest diving board at the pool. I'd hopped from that height and hit the water with an incredible impact. The air was ousted from my lungs and I blacked out. The next thing I knew my brother was pulling my feeble body out of the pool. From then on my fear wouldn't recede; I was absolutely terrified of water. 4 "Jason are you coming?" my friend Matt called. 5 "Yeah" I said. "Just enjoying the view" from dry land I added silently worried they might deem my fear pathetic if they knew. 6 Suddenly I heard shouting in French. A mob of people were running into the sea fully clothed. That's odd I thought. 7 I glimpsed something moving up and down amid the waves past the end of the jetty. I gasped realizing the catastrophe with horror. That's a little boy out there! The would-be rescuers fought against the tide but the situation was bleak. With the water's tow they'd never get to him in time. 8 I looked back at the boy. His head popped up then a wave crashed over him and he disappeared for a moment; I had to intervene. 9 I appraised the situation and realized the jetty! The boy was close to it; maybe I could help from there. I raced down the beach out onto the jetty and it hit me: Water! My palms got sweaty and my stomach felt sick symptoms of my fear. I stopped short. 10 The people in the water had underestimated the waves and weren't making any progress. I was the only one who saw that going out on the jetty was the fastest way to reach the drowning boy. Yet in the midst of this tragedy I was extremely terrified. I tried to remember the lifeguard training I'd had as a teenager. 11 I was paralyzed with fear but I forced myself to move forward with this impromptu rescue. I don't want this. Surely someone else can save him before I have to. 12 At the ridge of the jetty I whirled around convinced I'd see an athletic swimmer plowing through the rough water toward the boy. To my dismay no one was there. I turned back out to the sea to see the boy battered by vicious waves about 25 yards away from me. Sucking in a deep breath I threw myself into the water. As soon as I jumped in I felt like I was back in that pool breathless struggling terrified. Salt stung my eyes. Focus I shouted in my head. Where is he? 13 Then with clarity I saw a thin arm waving weakly a few yards away. I swam with all my strength reaching the boy just as he sank below the surface. I grabbed his arm and pulled. He popped back up eyes wide with terror pawing and twisting against me. "Repose (Calm down)!" I commanded the boy in French. His struggling would derail any rescue attempt and we'd both perish. "Repose!" I commanded again. Thankfully this time he listened and was still. 14 When I turned back toward shore a wave pounded over us. The jetty was further away! The rip current! It was forcibly dragging us out to the sea. I fought to get us back to land but made little progress. I knew I'd never be able to escort him back like this. 15 Desperate to survive I remembered what I'd learned in my life saving class: Never ever swim against the rip current! Swim sideways to the pull of the current and slowly make your way back toward shore. It was an odd-looking but practicable solution. Swim sideways and float to rest. Swim sideways and float to rest. We did that over and over. We slowly made our way to safety. "Jason you can do it!" I heard Matt say as he stood on the jetty. I hadn't even noticed how close we were only about seven feet left to go. 16 And as we made our way to safety I realized something incredible: I was no longer afraid. That absence of fear was a moment of triumph! 17 Matt jumped into the water. I tossed the boy to him. Just as I let go a big wave picked him up and carried him all the way to Matt. 18 On the brink of collapse I stopped fighting just letting myself go. My hand hit the jetty. It was like an electric shock that brought me back to my senses. Someone grabbed for me. 19 I felt strong arms lift me. I ascended not only from the sea onto the secure rocks of the jetty but also to my salvation leaving behind the terrible fear that had gripped me for so long. I turned my head and saw the boy was hugged tightly by his mother. I looked out to the sea. Weary as I was the water had never looked so beautiful. 游越恐惧 当时我和朋友正在法国旅行，我们把汽车停在海滩，眼前就是地中海。巨浪翻滚击打着构筑起防波堤的偌大岩石。人们说这里的海滩以其可怕的裂流而著称。恐惧让我不寒而栗。没有什么比水让我更害怕了。 只是看到了海就已经让我觉得反胃。 我曾经一直都是喜欢水的，并且直到去年夏天我都还是一名游泳好手。那时，我决定爬上游泳池边上最高的跳板来跳水。我从那么高的地方跳下，重重地撞击到水面上。我肺里的空气一下子全被挤出去了，马上不省人事。醒来时发现哥哥正把我虚弱的身体从游泳池里拖出来。从那时起，我对水的恐惧就没有消退过，我怕极了水。 “贾森，你要过来吗？”我的朋友马特朝我喊道。 我说：“好，就是欣赏一下景色”，又在心里默默加了一句——在岸上欣赏。担心如果他们知道我害怕水而可怜我。 突然，我听到有人用法语喊叫。接着看见一群人没脱衣服，就冲到海里。我心想，这真是太奇怪了。 我瞥见防波堤尽头的海浪中有个东西在上下浮动。我惊恐地意识到大事不妙，倒吸了一口凉气，那居然是个小男孩！前去救落水男童的人们搏击着海浪，但情况却不乐观。由于水的拉拽，他们根本不可能及时游到小男孩身边。 我扭头看看那小男孩。他的头刚露出水面，然后一个浪头打过来，好一阵不见踪影——我不得不做点什么了。 我估计了当下的情形后注意到了——对，那防波堤！小男孩靠近那个地方，也许我可以从那儿帮忙。我冲下海滩，跑上防波堤，但突然我想起了什么——水！顿时有了恐惧的症状：我手心冒汗，胃里感觉不适。我一下子停下来。 水里的那些人低估了海浪的威力，救援工作没有任何进展。只有我注意到了跑到防波堤上是到达溺水男童的最快的路径。然而在此性命攸关之际，我极度恐慌。我努力去回想十几岁时所接受的救生员训练。 我因恐惧而全身瘫软，但我强迫自己向前移动，展开这场突发的救援行动。我不想做这些，在我施救之前肯定会有别人救他吧。 我在防波堤的边上迅速转过身来，深信会看见某个游泳健将正向着小男孩劈波斩浪。但是让我沮丧的是，一个人也没有。我回身面向大海，看见25码开外恶浪击打着小男孩。我深吸一口气，纵身跃入水中。一跳进水里，我感觉仿佛又回到了当年的那个游泳池，我喘不过气，拼命挣扎，惊恐万分。咸水刺痛了我的双眼。“集中注意力，”我在心里喊道。“他在哪里？” 然后我清楚地看到一只细小的手臂在离我几码处微弱地挥动着。我拼尽全力游过去，在他刚要没水之时赶到了。我抓住他的手臂拉他。他冒出水面，眼睛因恐惧瞪得很大，胡乱抓扯着我。我用法语命令他：“别慌！”他这样挣扎会阻碍救援，那我们俩就都死定了。我再次命令他：“别慌！”谢天谢地，这次他听话了，不动了。 当我转身朝岸边游去的时候，一个浪劈头盖脸打来。我们离防波堤更远了！是裂流！它强行把我们拽往大海深处。我挣扎着想带他游回岸上，但进展甚微。我知道这种游法根本没法护着他返回岸边。 强烈求生欲望之下，我想起了在救生课上所学到的知识：永远不要与裂流相对而游！要顺其方向朝侧边游，慢慢地靠向岸边。这个办法尽管看上去很荒谬，但却管用。朝侧边游，浮起休息。朝侧边游，浮起休息。我们重复着这个方法，慢慢地游到了安全区。“贾森，你能行的！”我听到站在防波堤上的马特对我说。我甚至没有注意到我们离防波堤这么的近，只剩下大约7英尺的距离了。 后来我们到达安全水域时，我觉得有些不可思议：我不再怕水了。恐惧没了，这一刻我胜利了！ 马特跳进水里。我把男孩抛给他。我刚一松手，一个大浪托起他直接把他送到了马特身边。 我全身都快虚脱了，我不再划水，就这样放松自己顺水而漂。我的手碰上了防波堤，仿佛触电一般，我重新恢复了神志。有人抓住了我。 我感觉到强壮有力的手臂将我托起。我不仅从海里爬上防波堤的磐石，而且完成了自我拯救，摆脱了困扰已久的恐惧。我扭过头看见小男孩被母亲紧紧拥入怀中。虽已疲惫不堪，但放眼大海，我感觉海水比任何时候看起来都更美。 |
