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A near drowning incident | Essay for 9 year olds | Elijah Wee | Singapore

What a harrowing experience to have nearly drowned - here's my essay on "A near drowning incident", written when I was 9 years old.



            A soft wind whizzed through the crisp morning air, causing the emerald leaves of the nearby Angsana trees to rustle. Plants swayed in the breeze, as if dancing. Glistening drops of morning dew could be found dotted on them. The sun had risen majestically up into the sky, sending down the warm rays of the sun. It was the perfect day for swimming.

            “Tom, Jim, Mike, Luke, since it’s such a nice day, would you like to go to the beach for a swim with me?” Dick suggested enthusiastically to his four best friends who were staying at his house that night. Without hesitation, Dick’s friends agreed, nodding eagerly. Moments later and Dick and his friends had changed into their swimming trunks and set off for the beach.

            Reaching the nearby beach, Dick and his friends applied sunblock onto themselves before plunging into the cold sea waters. Dick and his friends swam with powerful strokes. Half an hour later, Dick challenged his friends, “Who wants to swim with me to the life buoy over there?” None of Dick’s friends accepted the challenge, knowing that it was very deep that far off the shore. Besides, it was high tide and the waves were increasing their furious thrusts onto the swimmers. Dick’s friends tried to change his mind but to no avail. “Then I will swim alone,” Dick called out to his friends. As audacious as the day, Dick started swimming away out towards the further reaches of the shore line.

            Five minutes of swimming away and Dick felt the muscles of his right leg cramping up. At that juncture, wave after wave of the sea water started to sweep him farther from the shore. Dick screamed out hysterically for helpUnfortunately, nobody could hear Dick as he was quite a distance away from the shore line. Before swimming further out, Dick told his friends that he would return within the next ten minutes. However, seeing no sign of him, Dick’s friends started to extend their search for him. At this juncture, Dick’s friends spotted Dick flailing his arms wildly, and his head bobbing up and down amidst the rough murky sea water. At first, Dick’s friends thought that he was waving to them, but after hearing his desperate cries for help, it dawned upon them that Dick was in danger of drowning.

            Mike, being the best swimmer in the group, swam with powerful strokes and tore through the vehement currents like a torpedo. Reaching Dick, Mike wasted no time in pulling him to safety. On reaching the shore, one of Dick’s friends administered CPR onto Dick. Fortunately, five minutes later, Dick came around. He was then helped home by his friends.

            Dick’s mother opened the door when the group of friends arrived at the doorstep, exhausted from the recent ordeal. Mike said that they wanted to talk with her. As the friends helped to lay Dick onto his super-single bed, Mike related the incident to Mrs. Lee. Within minutes of Dick’s friends’ departure home, Mrs. Lee’s eyes narrowed and Dick felt as though they would burn right through him. “You should never have swum so far away from the shore, knowing that the waters there would be much deeper and the currents stronger.” Dick’s mother berated on furiously. Dick could only listen on, feeling as hapless as a baby. “I’m so sorry, mum for being so foolish,” Dick apologised ruefully.

            To this day, the near drowning incident is still etched in Dick’s mind. As the saying goes, “A burnt child dreads the fire.” Whilst he still loves swimming, especially at the beach, Dick never again swam too far away from the shore.

If you like this essay, you may like to read:
  1. Jane saves a cat
  2. A near drowning incident at East Coast Park

Til the next time,

Photo credit: kern.justin / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND


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