Simah - The Pearl Warrior

Mario "The Best Sea Diver"

Cock-a-doodle-do, cock-a-doodle-do.

The loud crowing of the rooster awakened Simah.

She looked at her watch. It was past 7:00 in the morning.

She still has time to lay on the bed for a few minutes.

After all, her body is still aching because of the incident yesterday night.

She giggled after recalling what happened to her.

Her mind and body still remember the tight embrace of Alexis as the poor young lad tried to save her from falling on the bridge, but they both fell instead.

"Hey Simah, what are you feeling? You shouldn't feel that way to your friend. Come on, get a hold of yourself," she says silently, lightly slapping her cheeks.

"Oh no, I almost forgot, I have a dive today, Mr. Hernando is waiting for me, I should hurry up,"

Simah immediately stood up, fixed the bed, found a shirt and pants in the cabinet, and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and change her clothes.

"Good morning, Simah," greeted her Auntie Leticia.

"Come, sit down and eat first before you go to your work,"

"Oh no, sorry, Auntie. As much as I want to eat that fried 'saba' (plantain) and 'pancit bihon' (sauteed rice noodles), I am in a hurry. I have a scheduled dive today with my supervisor," Simah apologetically said.

"If that is the case, give me a minute. I'll pack this up so you can eat it later on,"

Aunt Leticia opened the cupboard, grabbed glass food containers, and immediately prepared a meal for Simah.

"Here you go. Don't forget to eat that, as I'm sure you'll get hungry after your dive,"

"Wow, thank you, Auntie. You love me dearly," Simah kissed her auntie on the left cheek.

"Oh, my sweet Simah, you take care and enjoy the rest of your day,"

"Bye, Auntie. Just tell Uncle Rudy that I've already left for work," said Simah.

Simah arrived at Ama after a 15-minute walk.

She went to her locker to get her diving suit and boots and into the female shower room to change.

She runs to the back of the building where the diving spot is.

There, she saw Mr. Hernando standing up and waiting patiently for her.

"Good morning, Sir. I'm sorry to keep you waiting," said Simah.

"It's okay, Simah. There's no need to apologize, as I just arrived 5 minutes earlier from you. My wife insisted that I eat my breakfast first. I've told her I have a dive today and should avoid heavy meals, but she is very persistent, so what can I do?" Mr. Hernando narrated.

"Are you ready for your first dive here in Ama?"

"I'm quite nervous, but yes, sir, I think I'm ready."

"I've already checked the condition of the water before you arrived. The current, surge, and waves seem favorable for a dive today, and for the surf zone, we already marked our entry and exit point," Mr. Hernando said while pointing at the SMB or Surface Marker Buoy so that Simah would be familiar with it.

"Now, let's log in and set up our equipment," Mr. Hernando added while giving the log book to the secretary stationed at the starting point of their actual diving spot.