Vera and the Octopus

Chapter 1

My name is Vera and I've lived in a yellow submarine on a tiny island in the Pacific for a couple of years.

I grew up here but moved to the city when I turned 18 to study marine biology in college, but my adoptive parents retired 2 years ago and offered me my childhood home and I couldn't wait to return as soon as my studies ended.

I had always lived by the sea. I loved living by the sea; I loved the fresh smell of the sea every morning, I loved the feel of the warm sand between my toes, I loved the beauty of the creatures in the sea when I went swimming, I loved how quiet it was compared to the city. But I was lonely: I longed for a friend to share my piece of paradise with.

I decided I wanted to go for a swim to see what kind of creatures I could find. I went to my bedroom and got out a baby pink bikini set and put it on. I then got out a pair of blue goggles so I could see underwater, after that I put on some beige sandals and went out.

I took a deep breath and dived down deep into the warm blue sea. The glorious coral reef looked beautiful and I smiled to myself.

After I had been swimming around for a little while, I came across an orangey-brown octopus. Its eight tentacles were curled up like cinnamon rolls as it was shooting through the water. It had looked as if it was trying to get away from something, and as I turned around I saw a shark that looked around two years of age, judging from its size.

I quickly decided to take off my blue goggles and to use them as a distraction. As soon as I had taken them off, I closed my eyes and waved them around blindly, hoping to either distract the shark or scare it. I waved the goggles around for about two minutes, during which time the shark got confused and swam away in fear.

Just before I put the goggles on again, I felt something clinging to my leg. I very quickly put my goggles on again and looked down to see the little octopus attached to my leg.

I soon realised how long I had been underwater and I quickly swam to the surface to take a deep breath. The little octopus stayed firmly attached to my leg. I gulped in the fresh air and then floated so that I could take a good look at my new companion. I gently moved my hand down next to the octopus to see if it would willingly move itself to my hand. After a couple of seconds, it slowly moved itself onto my hand. Once it was settled, I carefully lifted my hand close enough to see my new friend, but low enough that it was still submerged.

"Hello there little one," I said softly "it's nice to meet you. That encounter with that shark was a close one, I don't think we'll want another one for quite some time".

Its tentacles, once again, curled up like cinnamon rolls, I gasped slightly.

"I know, that's what I'll call you, I'II call you cinnamon!" I exclaimed.

As a response to its new name, its tentacles took turns raising and falling, eventually completing a mini Mexican wave.

In the weeks following, Cinnamon and I spent a lot of time together: swimming around by the coral; diving down to the bottom of the ocean and looking for limpets on the rocks.

Cinnamon always swam very close to me and I loved having my ocean friend by my side.

But one day, when I went to look for Cinnamon, I couldn't find him. I started to panic as I knew the shark that we had encountered many weeks ago was still lurking around. I started looking in all of Cinnamon's favourite spots, sometimes double checking. I was looking for hours before I saw what looked to be a new cave that I hadn't come across before. I slowly made my way towards it, being cautious as I didn't know what was in there. Once I got close enough, and the light had made its way into the miniature cave, I saw Cinnamon hiding in a far corner of the area.

As soon as Cinnamon saw me, he leaped onto my arm and held on tightly as if he'd had another encounter with the shark. I looked around anxiously, and as I was almost done, I saw our enemy gaining distance on us. I rapidly swam around the rock that the miniature cave was located in. I needed to think fast. I decided to make my way to the surface knowing the shark wouldn't be able to follow us, but first I needed to distract it.

I saw a school of fish in the distance and I thought it would be the perfect distraction. I knew the shark would chase the fish, so I caught the shark's attention and started swimming towards the fish. I made a few strange turns but eventually, the shark was going after the underwater herd of sheep. I then darted up to the surface and made my way to land.

As soon as we were on land, I grabbed a bucket. I filled it with sea water and put Cinnamon in it. I walked past my garden and into my yellow submarine. I walked past my kitchen, into my living room, where my big fish tank was, and gently lowered Cinnamon into the tank, leaving the bucket in there so he could come out in his own time.

I went into my kitchen to make myself some egg fried rice, and to get myself a cup of tea. I walked back into the living room and saw that Cinnamon had left the bucket and was now exploring. I sat down on my sofa and ate my food while reading the next chapter of my book. Once I had finished my food, I added it to the small pile of dishes next to the sink waiting to be washed up. I would deal with them later in the day, after my dinner.