Beautiful Cover made by lazilyellow. Thank you so much!
My heart clenched as I looked out over the once wonderous ocean. Pieces of plastic were being washed out onto the shore, most still bobbing up and down with the waves.
Nataline, you came! Oh, thank goodness you came! There's trouble!
I zipped down my sundress revealing my new superhero costume. I secured my mask onto my face and dived into the ocean without a second thought.
What happened? I was only gone for two weeks?
I know, I know, we can talk about your honeymoon later! First, you need to go help her!
Before I could even think to question who I must help and where, I could feel the familiar pull of the ocean current taking me to where she needs me.
The sight before me struck me with a horror so real and profound, I feared I might never get my heart back from where it settled in my shoes as it dropped. A large whale was struggling in the water, a big blue plastic bucket stuck in her mouth, her squeels filled the ocean with pure sadness. Her calf looked at her with terrified eyes.
Recovering from the shock, I immediately swam forward to help the panicked creature. I wrapped her and her calf in my calm aura before extracting the bucket out of her mouth with no difficulty. My tears mingling with the ocean as I healed her bruised and bloody jaw.
I looked into the grateful gaze of the whale for a few seconds, before she turned and swam away with her calf.
What is happening? Where is all the plastic coming from?
You humans! Nothing is ever enough for you! These poor animals have been tortured and killed with your plastic! You forgot all about the three R's.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle?
Yes, those 3 R's! The only people recycling these days are school kids, and they are forced to.
Other people recycle....
Look around you, and finish that sentence with a good consious. I dare you!
I look around me and I feel my body shrink in embarrassment. I see the plastic bottles, the same ones I buy and throw away. I see the plastic bags I got from the store myself the other day floating by passed me. I see the straws, the cups, the earbuds, the every day things we just throw out. And...
I am embarrassed to be human.
Plastic never goes away Nataline! It suffocates, it blocks digestive tracts, it drowns and it causes way more harm than good. But it never goes away.
What can I do to help?
Not just you. Everyone needs to help.
Help raise awareness of the problem.
Help to stop using unrecyclable things.
Help clear the ocean of what is already there.
Help businesses make better decisions and stop polluting the ocean to line there pockets.
You don't need to be a superhero to help me. All you need is to ask yourself:
What do you need more:
A planet or plastic?
Word count: 500
YOU ARE READING
The Ocean's Call ● A Crimson Reef Short Story
Short StoryNataline Shaw was always fascinated by the Coral Reef. The mystery. The uniqueness. The pure beauty. When life threw her a curve-ball and she found herself with very ocean like superpowers, she knew saving the ocean was her calling.
