Miyako Diaries 20: The Light Ahead (Patreon)

Chihaya let out some air from her mouth. Oops, that one was unplanned - she had rehearsed with Aya, prior to the dive, to exhale air at which specific point during the journey.  As this dive was going to be very long, they needed to strike the perfect balance between using their precious oxygen and relaxing their lungs over time - by blowing out bubbles in small increments. Punctuating your breathhold like that was the way to deceive your lungs, to let them go beyond their limits. And to add, Chihaya knew about how many kicks and strokes of hers would cover how much distance, so was gauging her distance to conduct her perodic air releases. Her next interval would be a little longer, maybe forty seconds, to make up for this unbudgeted venting. Aya, who was swimming besides her, hand in hand, was doing that too, and during the first several minutes of the dive, Chihaya could see the occasional bubbles out of the corner of Aya's mouth, flickering in the dimming light in the tunnel. But now they have gone in too far in and Chihaya could not make her out at all, except - surprisingly - the white of her eyes when they are turned toward her, which looked like a pair of bioluminescent jellyfish.  Fast, fast - Chihaya thought. In head she had counted thirty-six kicks and strokes, which would locate her close to midway across the long underwater tunnel. Her lungs were still about two thirds full, and she had not started to feel any warning pains or convulsions in her chest. They were doing good. She must have held her breath well past three minutes now, a good portion of that time spent descending along the smooth vertical ridges of the Toori Ike and into the mouth of the tunnel.  She shivered a bit - the water at this depth was ice cold - but felt somehow safe and secure, with the warm palm of her best friend pressed against hers. 

Chihaya did not remember whether it was her or Aya who first planned the dive. Although the underground passageway from the Pond into the　ocean was widely known, no one has ever made it through without an air tank. No wonder - the great depth alone calls for an adept scuba diver, AOWD or above, with solid experience, Nitrox and a dry suit to fight the pressure and chilling temperature of the deep. But Chihaya and Aya had none of that. Just with their usual sports swimsuits on, with no source of air or protective diving gear. But they would spoil the fun, won't they? (well, Chihaya actually did change back from the orange cosplay bikinis, after  noting her bottom began to slip off under pressure past twenty meters) But no matter whichever first came up with the idea, Chihaya and Aya were very intrigued, and each night when they were in futons together they discussed and studied the cave map until their plan began to crystalize. And now, they were carrying it out - and it was going to be today, the day before Chihaya's departure back to Tokyo. The timing was too obvious even to mention.

<<Gggulp>>

Another stream of bubbles. But this time it was scheduled. Chihaya has now squeezed out about half of the air from her compressed air cavity, and as she was feeling the boulders below with her free hand, she noted a downward incline and they were going even deeper. This was expected as well. Now they were passing the point of no return, meaning, after this they will no longer be able to turn back without - frankly put - drowning. True, she could try to swim back slow or fast, to either save energy or save time, but once past here she would be too exhausted and/or held her breath too long to make it all the way back.  Somewhere en route, she would have wild, uncontrolled  spasms, and in the sheer dark would be gorging down saltwater and fighting the piercing lung pains until her brain finally cuts her off into blackout. With the buoyancy of her lungs gone, her body would slowly sink to the bottom - and she would stay there - for how long? There was no guarantee that anyone would ever find her.

Ug-ughh!

Sensing her hesitation, Aya gripped Chihaya's hand firmly. Chihaya had missed a few kicks and was inadvertently beginning to drift. No, I'll be fine - Chihaya blinked a few times, and did a couple of quick kicks to propel her body back into position. She will keep swimming forward, through the darkness. If she panicked now, Aya will try to save her - and they will both drown. As she resumed her swim, she did a brief mental shaking of her head (because actual head shaking would kill speed), clutched her teeth, and started blowing air into her cheeks and gulping back in. Once. Twice. Thrice. This was her favorite rebreathing trick, and after a half dozen, she was almost sure she was breathing in fresh air. The signs of lung convulsions were gone, and her fear had subsided. Seventy-seven. Seventy-eight. She resumed her strokes count, surprised that her head had not lost track. Seventy-nine. Eighty.

Then, she saw it. As her body glided past a fair sized boulder, the uneven rock surface beyond gave way to reveal a pale light, way ahead in the distance. As she continued her kicks, it was getting closer - she almost thought it too bright, as her eyes were already accustomed to the darkness of the cave. Looking to her side, the contours of Aya's thin but muscular body were again visible. Aya was puffing her cheeks in and out. This was rare for her, but was no surprise due to this prolonged freedive. Right, they both have held their breaths  for five minutes, maybe six.

Chihaya faced back toward the light. It was still in the distance, maybe a minute's worth of kicking. And even after making it to there, they still had some adventurous forty meters of swimming up. Nonetheless, Chihaya's body now felt very light and comfortable, and she noted she was enjoying herself amid this voluntary suffocation. By cutting herself from the most vital source of life -air - and knowing she was only a few minutes away from painful death, she paradoxically felt very alive. She should be proud, she thought, that she could do this much heavy exercise while being strangled for six minutes. She smiled, and Aya smiled back. The convulsions and the urge to breathe in water were now coming back, but this time,  Chihaya almost embraced them - come, sweet death, you can lure me but I will keep on swimming. Then they let out new streaks of air, dancing and glimmering through the ever stronger light. We will go on. Together. No matter what's ahead of us.  

<<Gulp-gulp>>

[The End]