He plunges in, smiling!
He rises, gulping air, laughing, in his father's arms.
He cannot know what a father may fear....
He cannot know that Daddy lurches with instinct frenzy to retrieve him every time he jumps....
He cannot know that Dad's proud shouts of approval mask the silent, primal imperative to shout "Careful!"
He cannot know that a father's love drives the ritual: to teach jumping, to expose the mysteries of submergence, to stand chest-deep in the pool and urge a beloved son to risk his life with every leap.
He cannot know that, at some future time, when the time is right, he himself will ignore his guardian duty, and eagerly, with a smile, beckon to his own beautiful child to make the first intrepid leap.
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