Drowning Upright
I leaned into the jet and failed to make the water choke off my breath. My hand became a duck bill and cupped the shower head so the flow would go right down my throat. My head kept turning away and I tried so hard to focus and let the water take me away. Focus, focus. One two three go! I kept it up for five imaginary minutes, ten seconds really, and staggered back into the ceramic tiles. It's useless. I'll never know how it felt when that cinderblock pulled her to the bottom of the river. I heard she used that Gucci belt her aunt gave her to strap the block to her waist. I thought about that time I drove her into town to pick up cinderblocks for her bed frame. I leaned into the wet rush until my lips touched metal. I was trying so hard to cry and to breathe water. I just wanted to know how it felt.
- Michael Hartwell