Shadow in the Water

Prologue

The ocean is a beautiful thing. So massive that humanity has thus far been unable to fully map its depths. Scientists are always finding new species living inside of the many nooks and crannies, caverns and caves below its shimmering blue surface. Some are delightful, playful even, like dolphins. Some are the closest things the earth has to true monsters; horrifying to look at and capable of devouring a human body in one large gulp. It's the latter that you think about when you're below the waves, sinking into the frigid darkness, especially when you're a ten year old kid who didn't plan on taking a swim in the first place.

I had been sitting in a blue and gray seat next to the window of the plane, coloring in a picture of a mermaid in my fantasy coloring book during my very first trip out of the States on my way to visit my aunt and uncle in Scotland. I had been tracing the lines just inside of the pre-inked picture, making the color of the Crayola pencils very dark around the edges and then shading the rest of it in with a lighter touch, just like Mom had shown me, when the plane shook the first time. A jagged purple streak jumped across the page. I looked up at Mom with a frown as I heard a ding, and the pilot's voice came over the intercom.

"We're experiencing some light turbulence folks. Everyone please remain in your seats and fasten your seat belts."

"What's turbulence?" I asked.

"It's when the air moves around in different ways, like gusts of wind. It can make an airplane ride bumpy," Mom answered as she reached over to fasten my seat belt for me.

"Well, turbulence made me mess up my picture," I replied sourly.

"Maybe you can turn the mistake into something neat and add your own background. But it might be better if you wait until the turbulence is over, so it doesn't make you mess up again." She smiled gently.

I tried to imagine what the dark purple line could become. "Okay. I'll turn it into a big underwater flower." With a nod, I slid the purple pencil back into its box and closed my coloring book. As I did so, the plane shuddered again, more violently this time. The box of colored pencils jumped off of the tray and clattered to the floor. I gripped the arm of my seat nervously and watched Mom buckle her own seat belt. A baby began to cry somewhere behind us.

"Mom? Does turbulence make airplanes crash?"

She reached over and stroked my long black hair, calming me. "Planes are very strong, honey. A storm could batter this one around and make it like a roller coaster ride, but it won't knock it out of the sky."

Turbulence wouldn't make a plane crash. Good, that was good. That meant we didn't have anything to worry about. There was a knot of nervousness in my stomach that told me otherwise.

The plane continued to shake and jump, becoming very much like the roller coaster Mom had mentioned. I watched one, then two flight attendants make their way up toward the front of the plane. They were moving slowly, holding on to seats as they tried to stay on their feet. The lights in the cabin began to flicker and dim. I imagined that the plane was a stuffed toy in a dog's mouth, being shaken in all directions as I turned to look out the window at the storm. Black clouds were highlighted by brilliant flashes of purple lightning. The murmur of voices of the passengers grew louder as people around us began to panic.

"What's going on?"

"Is this normal?"

"I've never seen a storm toss around a plane like this."

"I knew it, my first plane ride is going to kill me."

Everything went dark.

"Did the plane just die?"