I watch Mira exit the Pipe Slide at the North Hill Aquatic Center. She flounders in the exit pool, her arms and legs thrashing as her head bobs up and down. My heart skips a beat when a lifeguard stands up, but she recovers. After I slide down, she tells me, “It happens so fast. Too much excitement!”

Mira and Frankie dance through the water spray blue sky

That night, while we’re watching a movie, we hear a thumping above us. It sounds like someone stomping across the floor, or jumping off furniture, in the unit above ours. The disturbance continues even after our movie ends at 11:30! I call the unit in question. A man answers and says they just got in, and they’ll settle down. The noises continue non-stop for another hour. I call Guest Services, who call security.

After midnight awaiting the next bump in the dark

Photo by Lily Banse

first published in Image Curve, June 20, 2019

for Real Toads’ Tuesday Platform (imagined by Rommy)