Deciding to come
below was the best move yet.
Under the surface, a completely different
world awaits! Above, the world stretches out wide, unbounded. Below, things slow down.
It's cozier, and very
three-dimensional. Any distractions of the realm above are completely
banished.
A flick of the fin, and I'm at my love's side. Together, we form a plan: we'll circle the
island around to the right.
Purple fans, towers of living stone; as the bottom recedes before us, the heads become
larger and further apart, finally giving way to white sand 30 feet below. At the bottom,
we see them: at least a foot across, probably more! Giant starfish. I plunge below,
straining to descend, to be closer and to marvel at them. I clear my ears and the pain
eases. Marvelously unencumbered, amazed to be so far beneath the surface, I linger there,
and almost miss the stirring of a large ray.
It is a magnificent feeling to be far beneath the surface and to relax completely, bouyed
by nothing more than my breath. I rise through the water and think "I should be breaking
through the suface now", but I don't. Still I rise through the water, for longer than I
think it should take. When I come up, I am ready to breathe, but then I return to the
world below.
As we approach the island, the bottom rises to greet us with brightly colored fish and
corals. Again I dive, deeper and deeper to the bottom. This time, instead of relaxing, I
swim toward the surface, the force of my bouyancy aiding my upward progress. I burst
through into the air, momentarily aloft. I fall back, within easy reach of my friend.
It feels so fine to be a fish today. Hand in hand, we swim.