A Poolside Perspective
It strikes 5:30 PM, and the pool is crowded. Kids are splashing and jumping and challenging each other on various dares. The pool is shaped in a strange way, with two showers side by side. A middle-aged man is stepping into the shower to enter the pool as his family are busy swimming.
The pool smells refreshing, the summer heat is at its peak and the water is cold. Families and couples are visiting the pool regularly as it is a fitness exercise and relaxing activity. I see many kids doing handstands and racing and adults talking animatedly about the COVID-19 scenario and what happened in their households that day.
I’m sitting on a plain, white chair that is smooth and comfortable. I observe carefully and notice that a woman is telling her two twin boys to jump and get some water toys underwater. Everyone is looking wary as a father and two kids, a son, and a daughter, enter the pool with a crocodile inflatable. However, the family is oblivious to the fact that the pool isn’t big enough to have a large inflatable.
My brother is splashing his friends and his friends are clearly splashing back, enjoying themselves while their respective parents are amused with this showcase. Four kids around the age of six, line up and are planning to jump together. I hear the oldest of them all, telling her friends to jump one after the other. She has short black hair, bold eyes and with confidence, she dives, and the other kids follow her lead.
At last, it is time to leave and I see the mothers having a hard time getting their kids to come out as they keep requesting five more minutes.
Contributor: Niharika Bisht
About our Writing Program Student
Niharika is our youngest writing program student. She’s 11-years-old and is studying in Class 7 in a British school in Doha. She loves reading the most and also enjoys sketching, making art and watching movies in her free time.
