In the soup

Imagine finding yourself in the conference room of a very nice hotel.

The only person there besides you is a man in a tuxedo drinking champagne.

He is floating on his back in the murky waters that have flooded the place, so all you can see are some dim lights along the walls and a huge expanse of dark water.

You are floating along the wall, away from him, but flutter your feet back and forth like a mermaid, or fish and find yourself tearing through the water, feet first, towards him. It is exhilarating and shocking. And backwards.

When you reach him, you stop and talk for a few moments. He says he is getting married today and you wonder why he is down here drinking champagne and floating, but you drift away before he answers.

Suddenly you see a commotion in the water. It could be stingrays, or sharks, but there are a lot of them and now you are frightened and want out of the water. Flapping your feet seems like a bad idea because it might attract them to you, so you lie flat out, trying to keep as much of yourself out of the water as possible. You might even be lying on a surf board. You only know you want to leave the room without being bitten.

The man doesn't seem particularly concerned so you float towards him and he heads into the stair case. You realize that this is your best chance. If you float up really close to the steps you might be able to get out onto a dry one without being bitten by the sharks whose fins you see behind you.

Both of you pull up together and he reaches for the hand rail and offers you a hand up.

You wonder if you should take it because you don't know him or the bride!