What They Don't Tell You Speeds Up

He asked me if quicksand is real

and I had to tell him yes but also no,

which is how I learned I don't know

how to lie to children.

When I was his age, I was certain

I'd die in quicksand someday. I read

about it. I imagined the sand rising

slowly, then fast, then not slow anymore.

I thought about the panic, the struggle,

the point where you realize you're going down

and there's nothing to grab.

I told him it's real but not the way

he thinks. It's real but slower. It doesn't

pull you down in minutes. It takes time.

And sometimes people do escape.

Sometimes they don't.

His face went pale the way mine must have gone.

He asked, but can you escape?

Like he was asking if there's any point

in trying. Like he understood already

that the fear isn't the sinking.

The fear is knowing you'll sink

and still having to move through it anyway.

I didn't answer him. I don't know

the answer yet.