Russel Boey is the 2020 winner of the
Sunday Star-Times short story competition in the under 25 category for this piece, 19 Seconds. The university student took out the top prize of $1000. Clear. Sometimes I have this nightmare that I can breathe underwater. I don’t realise immediately. I hold my breath as the cold gnaws and I kick down. Below me his ankle circles in languid orbit, brushing on tangleweed. Deeper. Breath disappears with the last beams of light, but I don’t stop; God knows I don’t stop. When I am certain that I will die, when I am sure that his sallow ankle will drift out of sight, I inhale a great gulp of water. It tastes of roast potatoes and carnival hot dogs. And I am still breathing.