The Diver

Excellence Award in the 'The Write Track 2015' competition

Down there, in the blue, glassy underworld of the deep sea, he watches. Bubbles forcing their way through the black, artificial mouthpiece that enables him to witness this unforeseen world of vibrant colour and swirling brine. All around him, in a world barely touched by man, where tranquility is abundant, you are but an obstruction in the path of the scaled beasts of the deep. He does not belong here, yet this is the reason for his being, to be a witness of this world apart from his own. The only sound he can hear apart from the distant rumble of copious amounts of liquid crashing into a sandy shore, is the air flowing in and out of his lungs. With a flick of his foot, the manufactured fins on the ends of his legs stir, propelling him through the clear fluid with ease as he watches the ever changing floor passing underneath him. And yet, something is wrong.

Plastic. The devil of human society has made its way to the ocean floor. The serenity of the area suddenly loses its charm as coral morphs into bottles, wrappers and arrays of plastic items that breach the spell of the ocean, contaminating it, and sucking it dry. He knows that although they mean no harm, this is humankind's fault. He knows it is their duty to protect what precious resources Mother Nature has entrusted them with, and yet, they choose to abuse them, until there is nothing left. He realises it will be the demise of the human race. But what can he do? He is but an unimportant speck of relative insignificance in the spectrum of his own suicidal society.

Slowly, regretfully, he peels away from the majestic underworld which is his real home. The journey back to land leaves him a lot of time to contemplate, writing down his observations in a small, weather-worn notebook. Flipping back to the beginning, he puts together an image of what this place used to look like. The first entry paints a vast picture of the underwater scene. Over the time periods inscribed in the small ship's log, he notes the changing atmosphere, how the fish grow ever scarcer and the sightings of garbage hit maximum point. As he reaches the notebook's last pages, he realises the hopeless doom of the ocean.

The boat finally shudders to a halt. He heaves himself up onto the tiny platform that connects him to the mainland ahead. Deep thoughts penetrate his mind: will his generation ever change mankind's course of destruction? Will they put a stop to plastic, overfishing, greenhouse gasses and deforestation? Is it possible? How could he know if no-one has truly tried, and why do they ignore it? The time to act is now, for this is no joke. He may only be thirteen, but time does not wait for us thirteen year olds, and he will not be bested by the fear of insignificance!

FOLLOW US


25

Write4Fun.net was established in 1997, and since then we have successfully completed numerous short story and poetry competitions and publications.
We receive an overwhelming positive feedback each year from the teachers, parents and students who have involvement in these competitions and publications, and we will continue to strive to attain this level of excellence with each competition we hold.

KEEP IN TOUCH

Stay informed about the latest competitions, competition winners and latest news!