Closer than Ever

Chapter 61 - No Secrets

We decide to spend the morning snorkeling again, and then find something cultural to do away from the resort for the afternoon. A quick internet search shows that a Balinese dancing troupe is holding an outdoor show at one of the nearby temples at 3:30 pm, so I reserve a couple of tickets for that, and then we order breakfast.

We walk down to the beach hand-in-hand after our meal, arrange our masks and snorkels, and wade out into the sea. We decide to swim out a little farther this time, to a different section of reef that is to the right, from the shore, of the one we've explored before. We kayaked over this other reef earlier, and could tell that it was closer to the surface, but we haven't had a chance to see it up close yet.

Once we get out there, Tae and I drift above the reef, and most of the fish dart away to hide amongst the coral. We float quietly, holding hands, waiting for them to relax and come back out. I feel a thrill run through me when I spot the face of a little orange clownfish peeking out from an anemone, and I squeeze his hand and gently nod my head in that direction. He studies the reef for a moment, then eye-smiles at me and finger spells "Nemo" in sign language. I eye-smile back, trying not to laugh and create bubbles.

Gradually the fish emerge from hiding and go about their business. They form a kaleidoscopic whirl of silver, blue, yellow, orange, and purple that is mesmerizing to watch as they swirl around just six or seven feet below us.

Suddenly, one of the strangest fish I've ever seen wriggles up from the far side of the reef. It's bright yellow, about two feet long and skinny, with a very long head and mouth that reminds me somehow of a giraffe's face. Taehyung and I glance at each other in amazement. This fish swims forward for a bit and then goes into a headstand, drifting down among the branches of coral, and it changes its skin to a striped pattern for camouflage. Tae squeezes my hand, and I smile around my snorkel, knowing that he's feeling chromatophore envy again. Suddenly the fish darts down and sucks a little reef shrimp into its mouth, moving quicker than my eyes can really register. I look at Tae in wonder.

The gentle current carries us slowly further from shore. Tae taps my wrist excitedly with his free hand, and points down at a couple of mottled yellow-orange seahorses with their tails wrapped around a sea fan. I point down and raise my eyebrows and he nods. We both take a deep breath and swim down to get a closer look at them. Up close, they have dark brown speckles on their skin. I mentally squeal at how cute their little pot bellies are, and then watch as Tae gently extends a finger until it's about a foot away from them. One of the seahorses drifts closer to examine his finger, then floats up and wraps its tail around it. I slowly reach over and pull the underwater camera out of Tae's swim trunk pocket and snap a photo. The seahorse lets go and moseys back down to its partner, and Tae and I make amazed faces at each other again.

I need air, so I float back up to the surface, and Taehyung comes up a short time later. We surface and take our snorkels out. "OK, that was the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life, babe!" I say, beaming at him.

"That was incredible! I am ocean Snow White!" he says, with a huge boxy smile.

It takes me a second to understand what he means, and then I laugh out loud. I start singing in a high-pitched, nasal, exaggerated tone, "With a smile and a song! Life's just a bright sunny day!" and we both crack up. I look at my hand. "I'm turning all wrinkly like a raisin," I say, showing him my finger tips. "Are you ready to go back?" He gives me a reluctant look.

I hand him his camera and he wraps the strap around his wrist. "Well, OK, Birdie. I forgot to put my watch on. It might be almost time for the dancing."

I nod and give him a regretful look through my mask. "Yeah, and I think we have to drive for about half an hour to get to the temple, first."

He nods back, and we both put our snorkels in and turn toward the resort. As we clear the reef, suddenly I see a large round shape swimming below us. At the same moment, Tae grabs my hand in excitement. A green sea turtle maybe three feet long is sculling along beneath us. It swims up toward the surface next to me and takes a breath, making eye contact with me, and I feel a happy shiver go down my spine as I look into its unfathomable, prehistoric face. Tae swims out in front of us and takes a couple of pictures of me with the turtle. The animal calmly flies through the water, diving below us again, and then drifting up next to Taehyung to check him out, too. Tae hands me the camera, and I get at least one good shot of him with our new friend. It takes us some time to swim the rest of the way back to the resort, and the turtle follows along like a puppy all the way. Tae and I both feel really loath to get out of the water, so we dive and roll and play for a bit just off-shore, and the turtle lingers around us looking unperturbed by our antics.