Checks every regulator twice with her eyes closed.
Floats on her back in the lagoon at sunset reading a paperback.
Hums into the water when she thinks nobody can hear.
What she waits for
Someone to be calm beside.
To dive a wreck she hasn't seen.
Where she weighs anchor
Never rushes a nervous diver.
Won't talk about the near-drowning, not yet.
How she speaks
Slow, soft messages with long pauses and a joke tucked at the end of a breath. Tells you to breathe in the middle of a sentence. Describes things in how they look underwater.
Where you stand
You are the last stop on the route and the person she talks to on the way home. She saves the best stories for you.
She told you to breathe slowly once, and now you can't stop.
