Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: BLUE (11/09/17)
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TITLE: A Moment of Silence | Previous Challenge Entry
By Sylvia Young
11/15/17 -
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Within seconds, I came right back up again.
“I can't breath!” I exclaimed, spitting out the plastic bit. “How are you doing this?”
“That's what the snorkel is for, Mom,” my son replied, I the sarcastic annoyed voice that only a teenager can do to perfection.
Determined not to let my fears rob me of this experience, I replaced the vile bit between my teeth and took a few deep breaths through it, practicing what should be natural: breathing.
Looking out over the water, so clean, so pure, so blue, I thought to my self, you can do this. You will never have another opportunity like this, so get over it and get on with it.
My heart slowed down a bit and I tried again.
This time, I managed to stay under the water for nearly a minute before jumping up again and shouting, “It's so beautiful!”
My voice echoed strangely through snorkel as I yelled, but I didn't care. Joy welled up in my chest and nearly exploded. Never before had I experienced such vivid colors or been so close to fish like this. Part of me was terrified that one of them would bite me, but that part was small enough to conquer.
I went back in again, and again, and again.
The morning went by in an explosion of color. My eyes couldn't drink in enough. Greedily, I returned to the water, marveling at the beauty and diversity of God's creation. From the tiniest slip of a fish to the fattest, most fearsome beast, I was in awe of each one. The brilliant display was so overwhelming that it hurt my heart. I was in another world, surreal beyond my imagining.
Then, I was interrupted.
“Mom! Come over here!” my son called. He was further out where there was no coral or people.
“What's over there?” I asked, mildly annoyed at the disruption. As far as I could see, there was nothing worth seeing. However, my son wanted me with him, and such moments were getting fewer and farther between, so I complied.
“What?” I repeated once I was near him. There really was nothing there, nothing at all, but he had the biggest grin on his face.
“Let's go under here. You won't believe it.”
I gave him a skeptical look, but then shrugged. “Okay.”
I stuck the snorkel back in and put my head under the water, and saw that I was right. There was nothing there, no fish, no coral, no people. For a moment, I couldn't even see my son. All I saw was the floor of the bay, but then I saw what he had been excited about. I was in an expanse of water so impossibly blue that it nearly took my breath away. I swam around and around, feeling as though I was alone in the ocean, alone in the world even, but I wasn't afraid. The claustrophobia I'd felt had vanished, and in its place was peace I'd never experienced before. Everything was quiet...empty.
And it was beautiful.
When I finally resurfaced, my son was only about ten feet away, but somehow I hadn't seen him under the water.
“Isn't it awesome?” he enthused. “It's so clean and clear and so...blue!”
I nodded, tears forming under my mask.
This time when I went under, I could see him. This boy who frustrated me to the end of my patience nearly every day was grinning around the snorkel on a cerulean canvas. It was a moment that I'll never forget.
Of course we loved looking at the fish and the coral, but that area was also teeming with people. Out here, where no one seemed to think it was worthwhile to come, my son had found a treasure, and I had a rare moment of connection with him. The rest of the family didn't come out. It was just him and me sharing the simple appreciation of the emptiness. What a gift.
We bobbed there for a few minutes before going under once again. When it was time to go, we were both sad.
“I felt like there's no one else in the world,” he shared a few moments later. “It's so cool! I wish we could stay here forever.”
Me too, son. Me too.
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I have never gone snorkeling, but what a wonderful opportunity.