Nina's Got a Secret by Brian W. Smith Page B

closed closet. The entire rear end of the vehicle dipped and the front portion went up like a seesaw. Nina was nearly thrown over her seat and into the water when the car shifted. Val was the biggest beneficiary of this event because her head and shoulders were now elevated above the water.
    â€œLord, please help us,” Val prayed aloud.
    Nina screamed as she witnessed the girls’ heads slowly disappear beneath the surface of the water that now dominated the car. Val looked helpless as her severely broken arm prevented her from helping.
    â€œPrecious!” Nina screamed.
    As if on cue, a tiny arm emerged from the water. The attached hand wiggled while the stretched fingers desperately searched for something or someone to hold on to.
    â€œNina, look, it’s Chrissy’s hand! Grab her, Nina; she’s alive!”
    Nina looked at Chrissy’s outstretched hand. She wanted to grab the child’s hand and pluck her from the water, but all she could think about was saving Precious.
    â€œHold your breath, Precious!” Nina screamed. “I gotta save my baby!”
    â€œNina, grab Chrissy’s hand!”
    Nina climbed over the seat and reached along the side of the seat Precious sat in and released the seatbelt. Fortunately, Precious had developed into a pretty good swimmer for her age. Nina’s insistence that Precious take swimming lessons as early as the age of five paid off. The moment Precious went underwater, she started holding her breath the way her swimming instructor taught her.
    With her child cradled in her arms, Nina managed to open the passenger door. Like two rubber ducks bobbing up and down in a bathtub, she and Precious appeared, disappeared, and then reappeared in the water. On the other side of the car, a splash could be heard. Suddenly, a light shone brightly on Nina and Precious. From the shore, silhouettes could be seen pointing and moving toward them.
    â€œI got one!” shouted a man.
    â€œI got two!” shouted another man as he drug Nina and Precious toward the shore.
    Nina and Precious were gasping for air as they sat on the shore surrounded by unfamiliar faces. Val’s voice could be heard as two women attempted to apply a makeshift splint to her compound fractured arm.
    â€œGet Chrissy!” Val screamed.
    â€œWhat is she saying?” asked a rescuer.
    â€œChrissy is in the backseat!” Val blurted out.
    â€œOh my God! She said someone was in the backseat.”
    As the car became totally submerged, a half dozen bystanders dove into the water and swam toward the old tree that once cradled the Range Rover. Seconds turned into minutes as the swimmers risked their lives to reach the car. Within minutes, five of the would-be rescuers returned gasping for breath and looking dejected. The last diver seemed to be lost in the unforgiving water like the vehicle.
    â€œHoney!” screamed the wife of the final rescuer.
    As he appeared from the murky water carrying a small lifeless body, the man’s tears were disguised by the dirty lake water that saturated his face. He placed the lifeless body on the ground and attempted CPR, but after three minutes of failed resuscitation, he gave up. No one had to ask whether there was still a chanceto save the child’s life. Tthe look on the rescuer’s face and the child’s limp limbs said it all; Chrissy was dead.
    Val put her head down and cried, “No, no, Lord, not Chrissy. She’s only a child!”
    Nina sat a few feet away, holding Precious, as she watched a total stranger carry her now deceased stepdaughter to the shore. She grabbed the back of Precious’ head and pressed her face up against her chest and breast so that the child didn’t have to witness the horrible scene. The emotion and drama that filled the air was suddenly replaced with a chilling silence.
    As if on cue, every head bowed as Chrissy’s body was placed on the ground; every head but Val’s.