Elizabeth looked down at the dive computer velcroed to her wrist. Thirty-four, thirty-five feet...Where is he? Damn it, he was just there. Second and last time, Ryan. Just wait ‘til we get back to the boat. God, does he think this is a game?
Practice buoyancy control, she reasoned, trying to calm down. Float, breathe and try to enjoy the sights.
She didn’t want to descend any further without locating him first and as near as she could tell, the sandy ocean floor was another thirty feet down.
Elizabeth could already feel the temperature difference without her dive skin. She thought he said there was a sand bar here.
She scanned the area for his bubbles amid the various rocky formations and passing fish but didn’t see him. High noon had cut her visibility slightly to about forty feet. He must be around here somewhere…
She checked her gauge again and this time made note of the time. They had anchored, pulled on their gear and launched from the Alyssa about 30 minutes ago.
Maybe I should start to head back. But, the scenery is so beautiful. She felt like she could drift there all day.
The undersea world of the Caribbean surrounded her with rays of downward stretching sunlight. It cut through the clear blue water illuminating the colors of nearby fish and danced on the rock formations that stretched up from the bottom of the sea.
Drifting there felt so natural that she wondered if it was like being in the womb, floating in a cavity beyond spatial comprehension, breathing in a body of water and listening to little other than the sound of your breath and the sound of your heart. Both of which were beginning to increase in pace.
Where did he go?
Her peripheral vision hampered by her mask, she looked above and below, then 360 degrees around her. No Ryan, no bubbles.
She carefully pulled her dive knife from its sheath on her arm and tapped her tank with it like she’d seen Ryan do before. Tap, tap, tap.
Even if he tapped in response she wouldn’t be able to determine from which direction it came. But, at least she would know he was somewhere out there. She quieted her breath by breathing in slowly and listened as the metallic sound of the knife's blade clinking the tank carried in every direction through the water.
Nothing.
She exhaled long and slow. Again, tap tap tap.
Listening. Silence. Exhaling, she heard nothing but the sound of her own regulator. Suddenly, Elizabeth felt very alone and vulnerable. Eyes scanning the area again.
Tap tap t…startled she dropped her knife. A little yellow and black striped fish darted past.
It’s just a fish, she reassured herself. Looking beneath her, she saw her knife drop further down through the water.
Her eyes darted around blurring the rocky walls and passing fish. Her breath quickened and she suddenly became conscious of hyperventilating on compressed air. Elizabeth’s mind was spinning and her breath became shorter.
Don’t panic, she told herself.
She could hear Ryan’s voice, “if you lose me, just go to the surface. Slowly. I’ll meet you there.” He must be there, she thought.
She took one more look around her at the serenity and the beauty of life in a different place and took in a deep, slow breath.
Suddenly, the tranquility seemed to mock her, as if she didn’t belong.
Turning her gaze upward, she kicked her fins and began to make her way toward the great light above. You’re right, she thought. This is like being born.
(Interested publishers, please inquire for the full manuscript.)
No comments:
Post a Comment