The Deep End

The Deep End
by Steve Cope
A Short Shot's Contest Entry
03-15-2009

The sky, pregnant with rain, threatens a deluge and an end to the fun for one day.  You see, Jim loves this little cove so serene.  There is not a day that passes when Jim cannot be spotted running and jumping off the deep end.

The water has been his life from the beginning and his accomplishments rival those of others who love the sport of swimming.  He's an Olympic hopeful this year and practices daily at the YMCA just up the road.

This rain is more than a shower, it is a hurricane that is on a direct path to our little community.  We are boarding up in preparation.  We will not stay, and fear what will become of the deep end when we return.  "Jim!  Get out of that water now!  We must finish and leave soon."  Oh that boy, one day he is going to be a star, but for now the fun is over, a storm is coming.

We are almost packed up and Jim has finally put his street clothes on.
"You look so handsome in your pants and white shirt, Jim."  I say to him
trying to ease the loss of the fun he so misses when he can't jump off the deep end.  "Thanks mom, is there anything else I need to do to get ready for the trip to the shelter?"  Jim asks and as I think about it one thing does come to mind.

"Why yes Jim there is something you can do for me before we begin the trip.
Will you please go into the kitchen and turn off the coffee pot, we wouldn't
want to come home to find the house burned down or to smell that yucky
burned coffee smell for days on end.  Wouldn't that be a disaster?"

Jim; always the obedient young man; steps into the kitchen, reaches for the coffee pot and turns it off.  Pours the remaining last few drops down the drain and turns to leave.  As he turns the weather also turns drastically, the winds blow harder and shards of glass are already flying through the air.

Dashing to the front door he sees a sight that will change his life forever more.
There on the ground lies his mother, impaled by a sign that came flying from the
diner up the road.  You could still see a part of the ad that advertised hot coffee
and free refills.  "MOM!  Oh mom how can things change so quickly, the storm
is still so far away, oh mom please don't die!"  Pulling herself to one elbow, Susan looks at her son, aware that her life is ebbing away, and says the one thing that she knows will comfort her son.

"My dear son, you are the most important thing to me.  I want you to mourn for me because it's necessary and then I want you to get back to training.  You are going to be a champion one day and I will be in heaven cheering you on."  Susan adds with her last breath. "Jim, don't forget to do this and when you return after the storm passes do one more thing for me please.  You run as hard as you can and jump off the deep end, I'll be there cheering you on."

The tragedy that struck Jim's life that day did indeed change him.  You see it turns out that if  Jim had not gone to turn the coffee pot off, it would have been him who would be impaled because his mom had stepped forward to see her son go into the door.  She looked up the road and saw the sign flying like a bullet heading straight for her chest.  The impact knocked her back against the car and she slumped to the ground where her son found her. She tried to rise but fell completely down to the ground and began praying for her eternal rest.

The hurricane that was threatened never came, it veered to the right and hit another community that weathered the storm with just loss of property and even now it's as if it was a bad dream for them.    The damage to Jim's little cove was minimal and Susan was the only casualty.  The freak wind storm came out of nowhere and left behind a broken family to pick up the pieces.

Jim did as his mother asked, always the obedient son, he mourned for his mother for a long time and then continued his training.  But not before he ran as fast as he could, screaming and hollering like a banshee, and jumped off the deep end.  That dive was the most fun of all for it was as if he could feel a presence in the water with him and he knew his mom, that great lady Susan, was there cheering him on in the deep end.  That morning he said "goodbye mom,  I'll see you in heaven."


Jim made it to the trials and will be on the next Olympic swim team.  Watch for him, his name is Jim and he will have a suit specially made with the words on his trunks reading, "the deep end."  Others will not understand what this means but you who see  this broadcast will understand and know Susan still meets Jim in "the deep end." 

How do I know all of this?  I was there the day of the storm and I witnessed the last moments of Susan's life.  I am a reporter assigned to cover this newest Olympic hopeful and the story he told, I now relate to you who will soon know the name of Jim the fastest swimmer in the world.  Reporting from Channel 5 news in Little Cove, New Hope, this is James Montgomery.
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