I didn't mean to...

When the child dropped his dad's gold watch into the middle of the fountain, everyone gasped. The patrons of the park did not pay much attention to the 4 year old after the deed was done. Afterall, he was not their child and, it was not their watch.

Dad was talking to some of his other buddies about the current project car he was working on; a 1988 Ford Mustang Cobra. Dad was the gear-head type and was always looking for conversations about cars.

The watch looked blurry but still maintained it's shine at the bottom of the 18 inch deep pool as the sun reflected off the water and the watch. The child poked at it, and prodded it, softly moving it along the scratchy concrete surface, all the while not understanding the priceless antique.

"Be careful with this son, it's your great-grandfathers," the child vividly remembered hearing his dad say. With that thought, the child suddenly became very alarmed as he stared at the glistening heirloom, moving in the currents his feet were causing.

He dove into the water trying to reach the watch, his eyes open, his lungs holding the breath of air he took before his plunge. Trying to reach this watch before his dad found out seemed to take forever. Each swipe, each attempted grasp, moved the watch further away from his tiny hands. He grew more panicked and realized his breath was running short, he had to surface. However, he knew his daddy's watch needed to come up with him. Eyes growing blurry, vision dimming, finally, he clutched the watch in his fingers, and breathed. He coughed at first, and floated to the surface.

Dad gripped his arm, and pulled his son with such force from the pool that the water immediately ran from his lungs and the boy woke up. He coughed and sputtered and his blue lips started to return to their normal color as his arm fell over his dad's lap. The father clutched his son tightly.

"I didn't mean to daddy..." the young boy barely got out between gasps.

"It's alright son. I'm here now," the father stiffled his tears and sobs. The watch fell out of sons hand and the gold lid fell open as it hit the ground.