- The Beatles -
"So, are you ready for the dive today?"
"NO", she said, half asleep and rolled over in bed, ready to get back to sleep. It's 7.30 a.m.
"It's just another dive," she thought. But since it was going to be a while before they'd be out diving again (but they did 6 already!), she decided she might as well tag along. Besides, it's her buddy.
****
The sun was out but the swells were unforgiving. At least the motion sickness pills were working. There was quite an excitement throughout the boat ride as the captain carefully maneuvered out to sea to the Bwejuu reef. There's only a narrow passage where the boats are able to past the barrier reef safely. The boy, the girl and Sufi, the dive master, clung on tightly to the boat.
A sharp 'pssssssshhhhhhhhh' jolted everybody on the boat.
Her BCD unexpectedly disconnected from her tank. Sufi immediately came to fix the leak. She lost 50 bars from 200 bars of air. It meant that she may not be able to dive as long as the boy and Sufi. Sufi reassured everybody that everything's fine. She remained calm. They had the spare tank ready, but it was unnecessary.
Like any other day, it was paradise down below. The graceful manta rays, the masters of camouflage; the octupuses, the schools of fishes; big and small, the plethora of colours.
Her tank was down to 70 bars. He was wondering whether they should ascend by now.
A beautiful manta ray swam past them. Sufi was pulling her down to the ocean floor while the boy was trying to deflate her BCD.
"Oh, we're going to wait for the manta ray to pass again," she thought gleefully.
The boy took out a slate from his pocket and showed it to the girl. She was expecting the boy to write something about the manta ray but on it was already written....
She wanted to laugh with joy and amazement but she couldn't. She wrote back....
But it all didn't matter; bangle, gone, goat. The wooden African bangle now forever one with the mighty ocean. The moment became the sea's new treasure. The memory part of its mystery.
She was too happy. Those little things never matter.
On the boat they all had champagne.
That evening, she saw a shooting star, as she proudly wore a replacement bangle around her wrist.
....And they live happily ever after....
(That last line was deliberately stolen from another tale, but all tales should end that way, shouldn't it?)
"So, are you ready for the dive today?"
"NO", she said, half asleep and rolled over in bed, ready to get back to sleep. It's 7.30 a.m.
"It's just another dive," she thought. But since it was going to be a while before they'd be out diving again (but they did 6 already!), she decided she might as well tag along. Besides, it's her buddy.
****
The sun was out but the swells were unforgiving. At least the motion sickness pills were working. There was quite an excitement throughout the boat ride as the captain carefully maneuvered out to sea to the Bwejuu reef. There's only a narrow passage where the boats are able to past the barrier reef safely. The boy, the girl and Sufi, the dive master, clung on tightly to the boat.
A sharp 'pssssssshhhhhhhhh' jolted everybody on the boat.
Her BCD unexpectedly disconnected from her tank. Sufi immediately came to fix the leak. She lost 50 bars from 200 bars of air. It meant that she may not be able to dive as long as the boy and Sufi. Sufi reassured everybody that everything's fine. She remained calm. They had the spare tank ready, but it was unnecessary.
Like any other day, it was paradise down below. The graceful manta rays, the masters of camouflage; the octupuses, the schools of fishes; big and small, the plethora of colours.
Her tank was down to 70 bars. He was wondering whether they should ascend by now.
A beautiful manta ray swam past them. Sufi was pulling her down to the ocean floor while the boy was trying to deflate her BCD.
"Oh, we're going to wait for the manta ray to pass again," she thought gleefully.
The boy took out a slate from his pocket and showed it to the girl. She was expecting the boy to write something about the manta ray but on it was already written....
WILL YOU MARRY ME?
She wanted to laugh with joy and amazement but she couldn't. She wrote back....
You bet
:)
Now, where's my ring?!!!
"It was a bangle in my pocket - gone," he replied. The wooden African bangle must have floated away in the sea, and in the confusion all she managed to figure out from the sentence was 'goat'.
But it all didn't matter; bangle, gone, goat. The wooden African bangle now forever one with the mighty ocean. The moment became the sea's new treasure. The memory part of its mystery.
She was too happy. Those little things never matter.
On the boat they all had champagne.
That evening, she saw a shooting star, as she proudly wore a replacement bangle around her wrist.
....And they live happily ever after....
(That last line was deliberately stolen from another tale, but all tales should end that way, shouldn't it?)
