Guardians Of The Ocean

• Aaradhya Tere, Grade 5, Westmead Public School
• Short Story
• 2016

Excellence Award in the 'Top Secret 2016' competition

Schools of fish swim by. Coral and plankton make the sea a vivid place. Slivers of sunlight penetrate the surface. Squids propel themselves powerfully through the water. The sand at the bottom has a rippled pattern formed by waves.

On other days ships are tossed mercilessly. The sky and the sea, the realm of Zeus and Poseidon respectively act together bringing terrifying storms and tidal waves. Marine life of all sorts seek shelter. They nestle in crevices. We sharks follow our normal routine. Seaweed is uprooted from the ocean floor. It seeks refuge in waves, only to be thrown upon the shore. Fish, are caught by waves and brought to land. Water crashes against rocks, making sounds like thunder.

The next day families gather at the beach, excitedly examining various sea shells. Children squabble over spots to build sand castles. Little do they know, sharks are only 100 metres away.

Under the sea, life is restored to the monotonous way it was before. Fish dart past, eager for food. Gannets circle the skies for prey. Then suddenly all you can see is a streak of white and blur of feathers as the gannet plummets down. I’m annoyed. My shiver was planning to eat that fish!

We swim under the waves, circling for easy prey. Above, the roar of an engine is muffled. The boat trails wriggling worms in the water. It attracts fish. I call to my shoal and they swim over. I communicate my anguish. Humans deplete our hunting supplies and now, food is scare. My frenzy comes to an agreement. We will make sure this hunter goes home empty handed.

The shiver lines up around the net, with their tails to the net. The shiver viciously snaps at any fish that tries to swim between us. Suddenly, a school of fish comes towards us. We do our best, but three fish are caught on the line, tempted by food. The line reels in. I seethe with anger. Doing something I have never done before, I jump up high and go sailing over the boat. The fisherman looks at me, eyes bulging and even I am surprised. I crash back into the water clumsily. I still feel full of rage. How can the fisherman take what is rightfully ours?

I jump again, trying to knock the thrashing fish out of his hand. I send one fish sprawling into the reaches of the ocean, but the other two are clutched tightly in the fisherman’s hand. As soon as I am underwater, I instruct my frenzy about my plan. Taking a deep breath I toss myself over the side of the boat. I flail around. A sharp blade is held in front of my eyes. I hope my pack can make it. Just then, with a splintering sound, the bottom of the boat is torn apart by my school. The boat starts to sink. The fish jump into the water. We are sharks, guardians of the ocean.