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What Lurks Beneath The Waves: A Flash Fiction Short Story
What Lurks Beneath? Look beyond the obvious!
Some days are really hard to forget, though sometimes we don't initially register the events that pass by within our view and often, it only takes a reality check to bring those events into focus. What lurks beneath the waves? Why is it that we don't believe in certain things merely because we don't see them firsthand? Monsters of the deep really don't exist do they?
Surely nothing could exist in the oceans beyond the reach of our modern technology? But then perhaps, some things have actually evolved and intentionally developed the ability to not be seen, by either man's technology, or man himself. Read the signs, it's not a matter of what we don't see, it's really about what we initially don't register that may well save our life, or at the very least, an unforgettable day!
'What Lurks Beneath The Waves'
Cupped hands seem only to stroke the glassy surface. Cut and divided by forward motion and pointed board. The shape of a solitary surfer, semi immersed, his upper body highlighted by a wetsuit, paddled to catch the moment. A moment, in the shimmering, western horizon’s sinking sun.
From shore he appeared to be at one with his world, perfectly fitting its fluidity, moving as water does, as water will in graceful flow, within the oceans unseen magnetic harmony. Yet another seduction rose and taunted him with its perfection, just beyond his ability to catch this wave. He sat beneath the surface, upon white foam and fiberglass, waiting for another set offering the choice of seven waves, each demanding his energy, skill and his respect.
No wind marked the ocean surface. No sound declared the presence of further waves. In half light he must have felt darkness enveloping anticipation, thinking days shouldn’t end like this. Paddling closer to where the sun had been moments before, perhaps searching for any wave to carry him back to shore. Inky shrouds of darkness removed contrary hope, but no waves simply meant a long paddle back. No big deal, though shore was equally black.
Aftermath - The reality check.
People struggled to comprehend the images on the news. Merely 48 hours earlier we had been at that exact place. A shredded black wetsuit had been found on the high tide mark. Human blood and tissue within its lining, the sum of what had been male, washed up among fragments of a surfboard. They determined no shark could have done this; whatever had taken him was far more aggressive!
They speculated that falling seal populations must hold a clue. We considered hands which seemed only to stroke the surface and how quickly, a darkening ocean seemed to have suddenly grown silent!
__________ fin
Copyright © 2013 Pearldiver – Art of the Diver with all rights reserved.
Sea Giants on Amazon.
Always catch the last wave...
Shark Fin Soup - Poll.
Should we support the slaughter of sharks solely for their fins?
Perhaps we really do reap what we sow?
With overfishing, pollution and the inhumane wholesale slaughtering of sharks for their fins, the entire balance of ocean life and its creature's life circles has been completely derailed. When apex predators are hunted to close extinction, then other creatures fill that role and adapt to the changes that occur within the overall environment. Mankind often ignores the reality of nature's efforts to regain balance, primarily because either there is no immediate profit to be gained from change, or those changes are to subtle to be seen until it is too late.
Today sharks are removed from the food chain equation, simply for the provision of their fins, sold to a growing Asian population demanding 'their share' of what is literally, a completely tasteless soup, used to announce one's social status. In the absence of sharks, creatures like squid are adapting to fill the vacancy, growing larger and more aggressive. The likelihood of giant squid attacking humans must now be considered, man is after all, a far easier target than their traditional prey and rival, the sperm whale. Forget everything learned from the movie Jaws, as giant squid are a vastly superior predator than great white sharks. So, have you truly considered what lurks beneath the waves at a beach near you? Well, it may pay to always look before you leap, don't you think?
Copyright © 2013 Pearldiver – Art of the Diver with all rights reserved.
Please... do take the time to Vote in the Shark Fin Soup Poll...
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