She was submerged.
And no one observed…
No one, except for her.
It was June 2022, during the World Championships in Budapest.
Anita Álvarez, an American artistic swimmer of Mexican descent, was executing a perfect routine.
However, when her performance concluded… she failed to resurface.
She had lost consciousness.
Her body floated for a few moments, then began to descend.
Gradually. All the way to the pool’s floor.
The audience remained unaware. The judges did as well.
Everyone was applauding.
Yet her coach, Andrea Fuentes, was aware.
She understood Anita—knew precisely how long it typically took her to emerge.
She sensed in her heart that something was amiss.
Without a second thought, she plunged in.
Fully clothed. Shoes and everything.
She swam directly down, seized Anita by the waist,
and brought her back to the surface.
She saved her life.
This narrative prompted me to reflect…
Who knows you intimately enough to recognize when you’re struggling, even if you’re still smiling?
Who would leap in for you without a moment’s hesitation when you lack the strength to rise for air?
And more crucially…
Would you be that individual for someone else?
Are you sufficiently engaged in your loved ones’ lives to detect the instant they begin to falter?
Or are you merely another onlooker, applauding, oblivious to the fact that internally, they are diminishing?
In this existence, we all require someone who doesn’t just observe us—
but genuinely acknowledges us.
Someone who discerns when we are on the verge of surrendering,
and possesses the bravery to dive in and rescue us.
