Ocean Blue

• Jaime Brook, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2013

We went scuba-diving on a warm summer’s day. We set off in a speed boat, towards the dark blue waters of the ocean. My hair was flapping behind me in the wind. Sea spray specked my face. “You excited Amber?”My mum asked. “Of course I am!” I responded, followed by a wide smile.
The boat stopped. I walked to where mum and dad were. Dad helped me put on the air tank, which I nearly toppled over from the weight of it. The instructor that had came along to help us, showed and taught us how to put on the mask and the other equipment. Then he told us how to jump off the boat.
Mum jumped of first, making a small splash. Dad went next making quite a large splash. I jumped last, with my eyes shut. The water hit me like an icy wall.
I opened my eyes. The water was a turquoise colour. It was a sight. I paddled downwards. A cloud of red passed me. It was a school of snapper. I saw their flashing scales and their eyes before they darted off.
I decided to swim downwards, to see what coral I could find. Down, down, down I went. Fish swam beside and away from me. Further down, coral began to show. Red, green, brown and yellow were the colours of the different sea plants. ‘Wow’ was my only thought. I reached down to touch this strange coral. It was bumpy against the glove.
I shivered. ‘It’s a different world here.’
Mum swam up to me. She was talking to me, but through hand gestures. She waved her hand, saying “follow me”. I started following her. Mum led me to a underwater ravine. I gazed down the deep hole. I couldn’t see the bottom. It looked scary.
I began to swim away, before I realised how long I had been under the ocean. I looked towards mum. She was swimming up. I followed her. The water was brightening up. Only then I noticed the silence. It was calm, but I had to come up.
I came up out of the sea. The instructor helped lift me onto the boat. I ripped off the mask and dropped the huge air tank, making me sigh with relief. Dad handed me a towel. “Did you enjoy it?” He asked as mum wrapped a towel around herself. “Yes” we said at the same time.
As the engine roared to life, I stared back down in the ocean. My body longed to go back in the water. The boat sped to land, as fast as it was allowed to go. I sighed. The boat came to a stop. We hopped off, thanking the man as we did. “It’s amazing what nature can do, isn’t it?” mum asked. “Yeah” but I remembered something from class. “I really do want to save the ocean, I wouldn’t want what I saw die.” Mum and dad smiled, causing me to smile.