By The Pool With Shalina - !!better!!

I followed her gaze. A dragonfly hovered over the shallow end, its wings catching every color. “Maybe it’s not time,” I said. “Maybe it’s just that pools have their own gravity.”

“Do you ever feel like time slows down right here?” she asked, without looking at me. by the pool with shalina

I nodded. By the pool with Shalina wasn’t a plan. It was a place we kept going back to, because some conversations don’t need words—only still water and someone willing to sit beside you in the quiet. If you meant something else—such as a scene for a story, a personal reflection, or a prompt for a different genre—please clarify, and I’d be glad to help further. I followed her gaze

We had known each other for seven years, but it was here, by the water, that we talked least and understood most. The chlorine smell, the wet tiles, the way her laugh echoed off the fence—these things became a language. “Maybe it’s just that pools have their own gravity