An Unexpected Encounter

• Ben Tohill, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2022

It was a normal day in our household.
A mother with a passion for fishing and a boy with big dreams.
What would the day bring?
As we ate breakfast, we heard the news on TV about a sea monster that had been seen at Rickett’s Point.
This news sparked our interest.
There was a bounty to get a $200 JB Hi Fi Voucher if someone could capture the strange creature in the bay.
Mum and I decided to borrow the biggest boat and head straight out to sea to search for the monster.
We had big nets and spears that we thought might be useful. We brought our favourite snacks consisting of Pringles, Doritos and Freddo Frogs (My Favourites)… along with mum's healthy snacks fruit, sandwiches and big water bottles to keep hydrated.
It was very rough on the water with the wind blowing fiercely. The sky was as grey as grandma’s hair and black as next door’s cat.
The boat struggled with the roaring sea and mum and I were worried we would be sea sick.
Suddenly, the tide was coming in and with it we saw something strange appearing on the horizon.
Mum was searching for her glasses, and I was squinting to focus.
The monster was like a large worm! We couldn’t believe our eyes! What a sight.
We brought the boat up closer and the worm just bobbed in one spot. It didn’t seem scared.
It looked friendly and not like what we thought it would be like.
The worm was very large, about 4 metres high and about 1 metre wide and the colour of dark sand with beautiful big brown friendly eyes.
It slithered around our boat several times and looked as curious as we were.
Suddenly mum and I were not too keen to capture the monster. He looked happy in the bay and had dolphins playing around its long tail.
How could we harm or capture something that looked so free and peaceful.
Mum and I decided to enjoy the spectacle and eat our snacks. The big worm loved my Pringles and I was happy to share my snack. We took a photo of the creature on our mobile phone. It was something to treasure.
Hours passed and the large worm suddenly disappeared. We had experienced something truly remarkable.
We felt happy that we didn’t catch the monster and totally forgot about the bounty.
We headed back to the boat ramp. The sun was setting over the bay and the sky was a brilliant pink and orange.
We were exhausted, but pleased that the large worm was not captured after all.
We called the TV station and our photo of the sea monster became famous and the worm was never seen again.
In the end, the sea monster was called Pearl by the locals and it became a protected species.

Mum and I often recall the amazing time we had that day together and how lucky we were to have been the only people to have taken a photo and seen the beautiful creature up close.

The End