A Drowning Accident

Stepping into muddy puddles along the swollen drain, my slippers became wet and were making squelching sounds as I treaded carefully down the slippery pavement. The sky was filled with ominous clouds. I was taking a stroll around the neighbourhood. It was then when I saw two boys, aged around five to six years old by a flooded canal. I was surprised to see them dropping and picking up empty plastic water bottles in the murky water. The water in the canal was smelly and rubbish drifted in it. The stench was unbearable and I was concerned.

It was after a heavy downpour. Brown water gushed from the sewage pipes. I stood quietly behind them watching intently as they pulled the same stunt once, twice, thrice repeatedly. Their chubby cheeks gave off a rosy glow in the dim sunlight. From a distance, their skin, like their hair, was extremely soft and fine. I surveyed the surroundings. Plastic bags, twigs and debris blocked the drainage hole. One flashed a toothless grin as he ran up and down alongside the canal. Their shoes were greasy and stained damp mud. Yelling words of joy, they skipped merrily along the drain. The wind howled angrily. The choppy waves started rising.

The wet floor was covered with blackish puddles and shoe prints. The hard concrete walls in the canal were decorated with slimy green algae. Occasionally, a rat scuttled past before dropping into the drain noiselessly. As one of them took a plastic water bottle, he ran leaping up and down with joy. Just then he landed. Unfortunately, he slipped on a black banana peel that was by the drain and landed into the murky waters below him. I gasped in horror.

The cold, murky water surged into his mouth and ears. He quickly tightened his grip on the plastic water bottle. Terror gripped me. The other boy froze, as pale as sheet. The angry current tossed the boy about like a paper boat. His arms were flailing frantically. I ran to the boy beside him and asked him what were their