I zoned out for about, I don't know how long. All I know is, my fear of oceans AND my fear of heights were kicking in as I looked down, there were rocks. Not just any rocks, they were cliff rocks, the kind you see in mountain climbing videos. I chuckled a bit telling myself there was nothing to be afraid of, besides, who's gonna let a 12 year old climb down a mountain. I looked around hoping for stairs or a ramp or at least a rope. Nothing. I looked down, probably not the smartest thing to do, and saw our scuba instructor waiting at the bottom. It had to be 40, maybe 50 feet down. I looked at Luke who was standing behind me. He, being silent as usual, motioned for me to go down. I got down on my knees and crawled towards the edge. Once I felt the cliff on my knees I slowly, but VERY, VERY carefully, slipped one leg over the edge. It took me awhile to find a stable spot for my foot, but finally I did. I carefully slipped leg 2 over the edge while gripping the rocks as tight as I can with my hands. I let go of one hand at a time and grabbed a ledge. I looked back at Luke and he gave me a reassuring smile that said, Don't be afraid. Its going to be okay! I smiled back as I made my way down the cliff.
After about 10 minutes of climbing, I reached the bottom of the rocks. With my heart racing, I looked up and giggled at how fast Luke was going. It only took him about 2 minutes to reach the bottom. When he did, the scuba instructor pulled some flippers out of a bag I didn't realize he had. He gave us the flippers and we put them on. Then he took us to the edge. I dangled my feet in the water as I zoned out again, not caring what the instructor was saying. I snapped back to reality as I heard a splash and felt water, Luke had gone in. I looked at the instructor as he walked towards me. He grabbed the oxygen tank and attached a tube from it, to my scuba mask. He then backed up as if he were telling me to get in.
I slipped my legs down and held my breath, forgetting about the oxygen tank. I gasped, both for air and in awe. It was beautiful. There were Angel Fish, Lion Fish, Clown Fish, some Jelly Fish farther down, Sea Horses, Sea Anemones, and Sea Cucumbers. It was absolutely and utterly beautiful. I looked for Luke and saw him turn a corner around the Coral Reef and disappear. I swam towards the Reef, It was amazing. I let my hand wander as I felt all the corals. There was a particular one I wanted to touch but there were 3 Jelly Fish near it. I decided to touch it later. I turned around about to swim towards 4 schools of fish when I saw a cave. Deciding the cave can wait, I swam towards the fish. They were so pretty. I tried to scoop them in my hand but I couldn't. No matter what I did, my mind wandered to the cave. Telling me to explore it. Finally I gave in and swam toward the cave.
The cave was dark, not scary dark but, dark. The kind of dark it is when you're running down a street at night, or playing with your friends. The kind of dark that embraces you, that comforts you. I found myself swimming towards the cave, just as I reached the mouth of the cave, I saw 2 snakes. They swam right in front of me and then one started to swim towards me, as if it were warning me not to go in its territory. I swam away and back towards the Reef. I look for the coral and when I found it, the Jelly Fish were gone leaving only the most beautiful coral. It was a kind of lavender purple and in the right lighting, a dark mysterious purple. I reached my hand out to touch it. I was smooth and rough.
Suddenly, it turned blue. I pulled my hand back and stared at it. I could have been there for hours admiring it's beauty, but, if I did, there would be no story. So, as I was admiring it, I saw a glow in the corner of my eye. I turned around to see that, the once dark and mysterious cave, was now bright and blinding. I squinted my eyes at it and found myself swimming towards the entrance once again. I stopped myself at the mouth of the cave. I looked around for Luke but he was no where to be seen. I took a deep breath and sighed, knowing I had to enter even though it was probably the stupidest thing I've done, or, will do. I took a deep breath as I entered the cave,
YOU ARE READING
Tiltania
FantasyI remember where I was when it opened. I was scuba diving off the coast of Hawaii. I knew exactly when it opened. I felt it. I had seen the cave earlier that day. It was dark, but now, it was glowing. I realize now that it was probably stupid to sco...
