Sunlight glittered on the water when I saw him. Floating. I couldn’t help but think: ‘what a beautiful day to die.’ But then, the water shifted. Ever so slightly. And his eyes jerked open, drinking in all of the sun’s rays. Bright orange they burnt. Mesmerising. I wanted to be looked at by those eyes.

His head snapped to the side and he saw me. I felt the pull of his gaze. I wanted to be in the water. I wanted to be with him.

I took of my shoes and dipped my toe in to test the temperature, but it felt wonderful. I sunk my whole body into the river and swam over to join him. I lay on my back and looked up into the sky. Clear. Blue.

I turned my head to look at him. He was looking at me. I smiled. He smiled. He opened his mouth to speak, I was nervous. What was he going to say? What would his voice sound like? I was tingling.

His teeth flashed underneath his lips ‘You ar-‘ suddenly his face contorted and his body was dragged beneath the water.

I flung myself up, searching frantically for him but my view was quickly blurred by the rising red blood now staining the river.

I felt something moving around me, it stroked my leg. I couldn’t help but think: ‘I’ve made a huge mistake’.