Mystic Waters

Venture. Out into a whole different world, that lies beneath the surface.

Bubbles drift past as I gaze upon all the ocean life. Seagulls swoop and screech above the calm quiet ocean. A flash of movement catches my eye as a crab darts past, escaping its fate. Clownfish mingle with anemone tentacles like salt and water as tiny bubbles escape from their mouths. All creatures living in harmony together. Starfish cling to rocks, narrowly escaping death with each passing second. 

Then suddenly, I feel my breath start to drain from my oxygen tank. I swim up. I thrust myself upwards with each powerful kick off my flippers. It's a race against time. My kicking starts to slow as I feel myself going faint. A split second later, as if out of nowhere, a shimmering blue dolphin emerges and propels itself straight towards me. I reach out and I am greeted with the softest material in my life. I cling to its fin as it hauls me up and out of the water. It leaps. I gasp lungfuls of air, grateful to this dolphin for saving my life. The dolphin plunges back into the water, leaving me with a mouthful of seawater. I choke and splutter, causing more seawater to fill my mouth as I am guided to the waves above by this majestic creature. 

When we break free of the underwater world, I splutter and cough as I gulp in the fresh breeze. The dolphin, who I name Hope, guides me to shore. I sit in the shallows and watch as, one by one, the rest of Hope's pod appear. I see one tiny dolphin nestling into her side. She must be a mum! That's probably why she was helping me, she must've used her echolocation to find out that I was in trouble! I admire her for abandoning her calf to rescue me. It is then that I catch a glimpse of a net on one of the dolphin's tails. I swim out and the pod parts to let me through. It is an old dolphin, weakening by the minute. The net cuts into its flesh, clearly causing pain. 

I turn and swim faster than an Olympic swimmer towards the shore. Sprinting, I come across my belongings, safely stored near the foot of a tree, way above the high tide mark. I rummage through my backpack and my hand grasps my swiss army knife. Perfect. I race back to the ocean, my only goal to save this poor dolphin's life. I plunge into the welcoming surf and swim straight towards the injured dolphin. As I approach him, I realize that I hadn't thought of a name for him. Star is the first name that pops into my head. Just then, I notice a star-shaped mark on his head. His name must be Star then. 

I start frantically cutting at the fishing net that entangles him. Several members of the pod surround us, encouraging Star to keep calm. With a final snap, he was free!! Two of the dolphins with fish in their mouths came forward and kindly offered it to him. He gulped it down greedily. Satisfied that I'd done a good job, I struck out to shore. 

I wasn't even halfway, when Star stopped me and rubbed against me, his way of saying thank you. I stroked him and we swam together until it was too shallow for him. I said goodbye and watched him and his pod slowly disappear into the horizon. Then I headed back to my belongings, stifling a yawn. Content with saving a dolphin's life, I lay down and let sleep wash over me, like a wave.