Page 46 - Lavender-B-8

the distinct voice of a woman crying somewhere.
He crossed a hillock and looked towards the sea.
There indeed was a woman. The moment she saw
him, she began shouting and waving her hands
frantically, indicating that someone was lost

at sea.

For a moment, Lawrence balanced his options.
He did not have much time left to go to the
stadium and needed to hurry if he was to be in
time for the swimming competition. On the
other hand, his skill was probably needed to

help someone.

After a second’s indecision, he ran towards
the sea.

Lawrence reached the woman in a few seconds.
‘My son...my son...he is lost,’ cried the woman
inconsolably. She could not say anything

more. She pointed out towards the open sea.
Lawrence took off his shirt as he ran on into the

advancing waves. He allowed the seawater to take him with it. Then he began to search
for the boy. It was by sheer luck that Lawrence found the boy. The sea had taken the boy
deeper, and Lawrence could see desperate waving in the distance. The boy apparently
knew swimming, but probably was not used to swimming in the sea. Lawrence could
make out the desperate movements the boy was making to stay afloat.

Lawrence began to swim towards the boy. It seemed to be a very long time before he

reached the boy who was struggling against the sea. He helped the boy swim as he
dragged him back towards the land.

Soon after they reached the shore, the boy ran to his mother who was sobbing and crying
and embracing the boy.

Lawrence was however exhausted and sat down for a minute to regain his breath. The
brief bout of exertion had drained off his energy. Soon, he

realized that he had to keep his appointment at the stadium. hillock: a small hill
He ran towards the stadium. indecision: the state of being
unable to make a choice
On reaching the stadium, some very disappointing news inconsolably: incapable of
awaited him. The 100-metre swim had just finished and some being consoled or comforted
of the other events were going on. exertion: the use of a lot of
mental or physical effort

46