I told him not to bother them. I told him that as long as we left them alone, we would be safe. But he didn't listen. I sit on the banks of the secluded ocean in the forest behind my village, sobbing as I watch the shark rip my brother to pieces. The spear he was poking it with lies by my feet. "Kill it," he gasps with his final breath. And I do. I make my first kill. The shark's blood mingles with my brothers, tinging the teal ocean pink. I gasp for air as I realize what happened. My brother taunted a shark. The shark, in return, killed him. And then I broke my number one rule: never, under any circumstances, kill an ocean creature. The pain is just too much for me. I feel as if all of the air has been sucked from my lungs, but still, whatever is taking it isn't satisfied. It keeps taking the air that I no longer have. I reach for the amulet around my neck. I remove it, and along with the spear head, I bury it in the banks of the ocean to mark the tragedies that happened here on my eleventh birthday.
5 Years Later
Ever since that fateful day, my village has killed every shark that enters the cove. My brother was well respected in the village, so his death took a toll on everyone. I have never been back though, and as far as I know, the tokens I buried there remain hidden. That’s why I end up back here. Back at the cove that has haunted my dreams for five years. I am curious as to whether or not they are still there. I wade into the water until I can feel the current—the river—flowing around my legs, disrupted from its peaceful voyage. I nudge the sand around the bottom of the ocean and see the familiar glint of my amulet. I’m not sure why, but it’s comforting to know that it’s still there.
And then I feel it. Something hard knocks into my legs. I look down and see a beautiful shark. I recognize it instantly as a black tip reef shark. It’s dark, mysterious eyes gaze up to me. Beckoning me. Calling me.
I lower myself into the ocean, and blink my eyes. I can breathe. I can breathe underwater. I don’t question it. Instead, I look towards the shark. A sense of fear mixed with excitement washes over me. It takes my breath away. I peer through the pink ocean—an ocean that has yet to return to its natural beauty. Stained with the horrors that have taken place here. The shark keeps calling me, so I swim towards it, fully expecting it to attack me. I deserve it, after all. I killed one of hers, why shouldn’t she get revenge? She nuzzles into the sand and uncovers the amulet and spear head. Ignoring the weapon, she picks the amulet up with her nose and drapes it around my neck. And then she’s gone. Just… gone. I feel my heart pounding in my chest. It’s different, though. It feels like a different sort of pounding. One that I can’t quite place. I swim through the river, desperately searching for a shark. Any shark. That shark. And then I happen upon it.
Completely by chance, I look down. And there it is. A shark haven. Thousands of sharks, all different kinds, swimming in harmony. I cautiously swim towards them, eyes alert, but for what? An attack? No, if they wanted to attack me, they would have done so already. When I reach the center of it all, they all look at me. Curiosity showing in their piercing eyes. Then she appears again. She looks at me, and then at her own. And somehow I understand. They don’t blame me for what happened. They aren’t vengeful of their fallen. They take care of the living, and don’t dwell on the dead. That’s the last thought I have before fading into a comforting dark abyss.
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