Wednesday underwater!
OOC: Usually I'd get another character like Ida to do a nature prompt. But I realized I have yet to do a prompt where Marce actually *appreciates* the outdoors.
We get this at home all the time....
I never really thought about it till one summer, while I was still a law student. We (that is me, Emil, Ray, Sabine, and a bunch of other good friends) wanted some time off school and work. We drove down to my home province---a place I hadn't really been to since I was a teenager---and rented a sort of floating cabana.
While Ray was playing the grillmaster and the girls were gathered for a game of cards, Emil and I were sitting at the edge of the raft. We were moored just off a beautiful cove that had mangroves and rocks. It was, as my best friend Ida would have said, a perfect nature hotspot.
"Ever try snorkeling?" he asked me seemingly out of nowhere.
I shook my head. "You know me and nature don't mix. Besides, it's a little pricey with oxygen tanks and all."
"You're thinking of scuba. All you need to snorkel is a mask and well, a snorkel," Emil said. "I brought my gear, and Sabine has a spare. We're both wearing water shoes...."
"What, right here?"
"We're off a reef. It will be fun,"
Sabine looked up from her game of pusoy-dos. "Check my gear bag. You can tighten the strap so that the mask will fit."
I didn't have to do much to it. The mask fit snugly around my eyes, and I could feel the suction on my cheeks and around my nose. Supposedly the water would help force the mask onto my head. The snorkel Sabine had brought with her was more than just a plastic tube; it had a sort of valve that would snap shut to prevent water from seeping in if I somehow chose to dive down. It was a simple but nifty innovation.
Emil jumped into the water first, and I could hear him yelling about how cold it was. "Your turn," he said, extending his hand to me.
I slipped in and swam to where he was. "This better be worth it," I said before I ducked my head to take a look. As I'd been told, the mask fit more snugly on my face, giving me no choice but to breathe through my mouth and into the snorkel. Right below me and Emil was the blueness of the ocean bottom, but just a few meters away were the colorful spires of the coral reef. Fish of all shapes and sizes darted everywhere, some even venturing up to us out of curiosity. The water was cool, but not shockingly so, almost like a reassuring caress around me.
We swam up and over to the reef, taking care not to bump the coral or the rocks. I was too scared to let my shoes touch bottom; I knew the corals were so fragile, and I could see wicked looking sea urchins lurking here and there. But it was easy to forget about those spiny beasts, especially with so many other beautiful things in the water. Emil was so much more at ease here than I was; he had no trouble swimming wherever he wished, while I had to splash like mad after him, or let him tow me along. I could only watch at times as his lithe form moved ahead of mine, till he would point out a school of fish, an interesting bit of coral or whatever other unusual thing he found in this reef.
I nearly shrank back when I saw a yellow and blue eel zip out from someplace between the rocks. I must have gasped or something, since I felt Emil's hand close around mine.
"It's not going to hurt you," he laughed when we surfaced for a moment.
"I know! But I don't see eels everyday!" I said as soon as I'd spat out my snorkel.
"You only have to worry about sea snakes---and I'll push you aside if we find those," he said. "Why don't we go further down to take a better look?"
"Underwater?"
"Where else?" He put his snorkel back on and held up three fingers. He counted down to zero before taking my hand and pulling us back under again.
I heard the valve on my snorkel shut as I kicked my way downwards. We were surrounded by a rainbow of fish; some little ones like flashing confetti, others larger and more stately like vividly colored balloons and ships. I could not name the colors of all the corals we were surrounded with. It was an oddly peaceful yet exhilarating feeling.
Emil and I may have been people of fire, but somehow being here underwater for a little while could suit us just fine.
We get this at home all the time....
I never really thought about it till one summer, while I was still a law student. We (that is me, Emil, Ray, Sabine, and a bunch of other good friends) wanted some time off school and work. We drove down to my home province---a place I hadn't really been to since I was a teenager---and rented a sort of floating cabana.
While Ray was playing the grillmaster and the girls were gathered for a game of cards, Emil and I were sitting at the edge of the raft. We were moored just off a beautiful cove that had mangroves and rocks. It was, as my best friend Ida would have said, a perfect nature hotspot.
"Ever try snorkeling?" he asked me seemingly out of nowhere.
I shook my head. "You know me and nature don't mix. Besides, it's a little pricey with oxygen tanks and all."
"You're thinking of scuba. All you need to snorkel is a mask and well, a snorkel," Emil said. "I brought my gear, and Sabine has a spare. We're both wearing water shoes...."
"What, right here?"
"We're off a reef. It will be fun,"
Sabine looked up from her game of pusoy-dos. "Check my gear bag. You can tighten the strap so that the mask will fit."
I didn't have to do much to it. The mask fit snugly around my eyes, and I could feel the suction on my cheeks and around my nose. Supposedly the water would help force the mask onto my head. The snorkel Sabine had brought with her was more than just a plastic tube; it had a sort of valve that would snap shut to prevent water from seeping in if I somehow chose to dive down. It was a simple but nifty innovation.
Emil jumped into the water first, and I could hear him yelling about how cold it was. "Your turn," he said, extending his hand to me.
I slipped in and swam to where he was. "This better be worth it," I said before I ducked my head to take a look. As I'd been told, the mask fit more snugly on my face, giving me no choice but to breathe through my mouth and into the snorkel. Right below me and Emil was the blueness of the ocean bottom, but just a few meters away were the colorful spires of the coral reef. Fish of all shapes and sizes darted everywhere, some even venturing up to us out of curiosity. The water was cool, but not shockingly so, almost like a reassuring caress around me.
We swam up and over to the reef, taking care not to bump the coral or the rocks. I was too scared to let my shoes touch bottom; I knew the corals were so fragile, and I could see wicked looking sea urchins lurking here and there. But it was easy to forget about those spiny beasts, especially with so many other beautiful things in the water. Emil was so much more at ease here than I was; he had no trouble swimming wherever he wished, while I had to splash like mad after him, or let him tow me along. I could only watch at times as his lithe form moved ahead of mine, till he would point out a school of fish, an interesting bit of coral or whatever other unusual thing he found in this reef.
I nearly shrank back when I saw a yellow and blue eel zip out from someplace between the rocks. I must have gasped or something, since I felt Emil's hand close around mine.
"It's not going to hurt you," he laughed when we surfaced for a moment.
"I know! But I don't see eels everyday!" I said as soon as I'd spat out my snorkel.
"You only have to worry about sea snakes---and I'll push you aside if we find those," he said. "Why don't we go further down to take a better look?"
"Underwater?"
"Where else?" He put his snorkel back on and held up three fingers. He counted down to zero before taking my hand and pulling us back under again.
I heard the valve on my snorkel shut as I kicked my way downwards. We were surrounded by a rainbow of fish; some little ones like flashing confetti, others larger and more stately like vividly colored balloons and ships. I could not name the colors of all the corals we were surrounded with. It was an oddly peaceful yet exhilarating feeling.
Emil and I may have been people of fire, but somehow being here underwater for a little while could suit us just fine.