Facing Fear

• Sienna Lauber, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2017

I remember the sound of the crowd cheering and my heart thumping. My hands shaking and my head in harrowing pain. Voices of doubt crowed my mind, just as they had many years ago.
"No!" I told myself firmly, "It won't happen again."
Even so, horrible memories filled my brain. Tears rolling down my cheeks, losing control over my entire body...
"11 year old, 25 metre race, please come down."
I took one big, shaky breath, as I slowly walked down those steps, leading into hell...
The freezing water sent a shiver up my spine and the stench of chlorine filled my nostrils. Everything around me started to spin, like one big tornado of doom. I tried to assure myself that I was fine and that I shouldn't be scared of something as silly as a swimming carnival. I mean it wasn't like last time...
‘Screech!’ The horrendous sound of the whistle filled my ears. I splashed down the lane like a hippo on steroids and my whole body ached with excruciating pain. I wondered if I would ever make it to the end.
‘Bang!’ As my hand hit the wall, a shot of relief went through my body. A man came up to me and told me I had come first. All my muscles relaxed and a big smile stretched across my face. It was then when I learnt a very important lesson- if you avoid fear, you will live your whole life being scared and depressed. The only way to beat it is to face it and you never know, one day you might accomplish something you never thought was possible.