UNDER THE OCEAN (Original)

Chapter Five: Mysterious new world

 A deep groaning from under the caravan awakened Sam. Light was streaming in through the caravan windows. It had an interesting shimmer about it, not like what he was used to seeing. The light moved in pulsing waves of blues and yellows and many other colours. Different shades all around him wherever he looked.

Stretching from under his blankets, he turned his head and saw the girls still sleeping together on the other side of the caravan in the messy makeshift bed. They had knocked it together higgledy-piggledy last night, when that strange storm had tossed them into this even stranger place. The caravan rocked barely, and vaguely noticeable backwards and forwards. It was like they were being lulled gently into a continuous sleep. The children were the babies in a capsule-cot.

There was another groaning. Sam wondered what it might be? It was an odd sound, deep and echoing. The walls of the caravan flexed under a giant hand. Slowly he raised his head from the messy pile of clothes that served as a pillow. He snatched a quick peek out the window above his head. For a moment, he was stunned! He saw a view that was captivating! Where was he?

Outside was a beehive of motion and busyness. A living collage of fish, strange creatures and corals. Seaweed draped over an endless rocky terrain.

The source of light was all over everything and came from far above. The various bright fish and sea creatures swam casually along at many different levels and paces. No one particular zone was the same. The landscape was rich with colours and textures. He saw countless types of plants and shapes. It was a worthy sight; all the colours you could imagine and many other colours you could not imagine entered his awe struck eyes. He could taste the smoothness of the blues and the coolness of the greens. Other colours, pink like strawberry ice cream and deep purple as the sharpest crystals. There were too many colours to describe. If you have ever seen the ocean bed, you would understand only a little of what Sam saw. You could spend hours explaining it to another but still never really explain it.

Sam wondered what was before him, and where on earth they could be? “Wake up girls, look out there!” He could not hide his excitement. “Get up will you, take a look outside!” The girls did not budge.

“Waadayawannnt,” slurred Jasmine.

“Get up! See for yourselves!” Jasmine raised her head slowly, disinterested. “Go back to sleep Sam!” When Jasmine spoke, Sam could see her voice. It was alive, like it was beating waves of colour floating gently from her lips: visible breath. When she spoke, a kaleidoscope of harsh colours, grumpy colours - flat reds twisted with sharp yellows and greens. She was grumpy is what they told him.

“Get up and look out there!” Looking out her window, Sarah caught a small glimpse of what Sam was so excited about, but hadn’t quite registered everything within her tired brain. She spoke with bewilderment, “Wow, where are we?” Her voice flowed out of her in different rhythms than Jasmines. Made up of oranges and emerald green, smooth as honey. They wafted from her smiling mouth. Sam did not know how to react to the strange occurrence. Each time a voice filled the small space within ‘Lake-mist’, there, elegantly radiating from his or her body and mouth would be an inexhaustible colour spectrum. Shapes rolled in waves and pulses. All of the variances tangled up like a bundle of multi-coloured wool. Not even a kitten would have traipsed around your house this messy array.

The girls had not noticed the full extent of it yet . . . but Sam had. He had received a blow from a sledgehammer. All the creatures and even the plants and rocks were making these brilliant colours, and wonderful sounds too! It was nothing short of miraculous!

Sam couldn’t hold in his joy any longer and let loose a boom of laughter from within! Instantly a laser-light combination of oranges, yellows, and pinks penetrated the caravan walls as if they were not even there. Exploding from him for miles, twisting excitedly as it went all topsy-turvy.

“You’re right Jasmine, we are under the ocean. This is mind-blowing!”

“Wow!” Jasmine squealed, creating sharp red waves. Blue tipped, radiated from her being!

All three noticed a host of colours by now, living activity surrounded them. It showed what mood they were in and how they were feeling. Likewise, it reflected in all that was surrounding them. The plants and creatures. Even the rocks, corals and landscapes, had these reflections and produced colours and waves of all shapes and sizes.

The kids soon learned that all of this raiment and mystery, were an excellent indicator of who was friendly and who was not.

“Do all the creatures do that?” Sarah asked while her bright blue eyes almost popped from their sockets, with all her looking around. There it was, more colours, more indicators, deeper mystery, wafting before her.

“Perhaps this is what all fish and creatures that live here have always been able to do . . . to see their sound? Maybe because we don’t live in the ocean, we can’t!” Typical Sam style, trying to work out an explanation of what they were experiencing. He was always trying to figure out the answers or wanting to know how things worked. A thousand questions filled the children’s minds.

Sarah wanted to know how they were able to breathe underwater. Jasmine thought that maybe they were dead? After all, how could they breathe? Thinking some more about it, she decided it was a silly thing but perhaps true.

“Maybe this is heaven. It certainly looks like a nice place. Perhaps we are dead?” Jasmine declared.

“We can’t be!” Sam retaliated while producing further grumpy colours. “We would see angels and other people, and God.”

“Could we be visiting another place like heaven?” Sarah asked puzzled.

“I can’t imagine so. I haven’t heard of another place: certainly not in the sea – only in stories. However, this isn’t a story, this is real! Pinch yourself and you will find out!”

“Oww! That hurt, Sarah! Jasmine said pinch yourself, not me!” Sam had to rub his now sore arm from his new bruise.

Sarah added, “If we were dead, we would know it wouldn’t we?” Sam was too busy rubbernecking close to the large tinted glass windows, trying to see more of the outside world.

With a huff he said, “No, we’re not dead. I don’t feel dead. Do you?” Sam wanted to go and explore the rest of this strange place, not talk about being dead!

“Maybe you’re right. We would feel dead if we were. I don’t know the answer. I don’t feel dead, but then what does ‘dead’ feel like?” Jasmine always had some kind of dreamy way of expressing things.

“Will we see mum and dad again?” Sarah asked, worried from all of this kind of talk.

“I really don’t know. I hope so.” Jasmine tried to console Sarah with a gentle hug and a smile.

“Don’t worry! We will do our best to get back home. Hey, look out there! Whoaaa, did you see that?” Sam saw something that caught his eye; he tried to get a better look but the cupboard wall by the door was blocking his view and he bumped his head on the glass. “Let’s have a look around. Who knows what we might find!” He was restless for adventure.

“Well, I don’t think we are dead!” Jasmine said with finality in her voice.