Mermaiding Mishap[12P] by WaveLens,chef-cheir(6)

P4--- 4: Believe you are a mermaid! ---
Several, long seconds passed and the saving goal did not look much closer to the costumed Hawaiian girl. Despite her life long training in freediving, she could barely keep the panic at bay anymore. She was clawing at the water with her hands while her lungs screamed for fresh breath and tried to make her exhale with the result that her cheeks bulged.

She managed to gulp the compressed air back into her chest but obviously that was hardly helping.
Instead it rather just reminded her of breathing even more and made her mind race. She thought of how long descending had taken and that told her how slim her chances were. Especially since gravity was not on her side now anymore.
Yet even when her face was starting to show hints of purple from the oxygen deprivation, the dedicated mermaid performer did not want to give up. She always believed that she belonged into the water in a way. She was as close to a mermaid one could be with training and this was her only hope.