The Pool -

He looked down at his bright yellow pool noodle tucked under his arm—his "safety gear". For a second, he thought about retreating to the snack bar, where the only danger was a brain freeze from a blue raspberry slushie. But then he saw a younger kid, barely five, splash into the shallow end with a fearless laugh.

Leo hesitated. He remembered the last time—the sudden panic of sinking , the "greedy" feeling of the water climbing up his chest, and the way the world turned into a muffled, distorted blur. His heart hammered against his ribs, a nervous system response his brain recognized as "freeze". The Choice The Pool

The sun hit the surface of in sharp, diamond-like glimmers, making the water look more like a solid sheet of glass than a place to swim. Ten-year-old Leo stood at the very edge of the concrete, his toes curling over the rough, sun-baked rim. To everyone else, this was just the neighborhood spot to cool off; to Leo, it was a blue monster he hadn't yet learned to tame. The Threshold He looked down at his bright yellow pool

Leo took a breath, inhaling the scent of chlorine and summer. He didn’t jump. Instead, he sat on the edge first, letting his feet dangle into the ice-cold water. It wasn't a monster; it was just cold. The Plunge Leo hesitated