Fish : Word Prompt

 

Wrote this for a word prompt. The word was Fish and it triggered a memory that occurred many years ago during an underwater expedition. 

 

I was on a diving vacation in Hurghada-a beach town that stretched along Egypt's Red sea coast. The prospect of diving in the red sea sounded exciting as it appeared to be an unchartered territory-not usually sought out for diving. At least not the way Southeast Asia or Australia was. This was in 2010.  Just as I had expected, my husband and I were the only ones on the boat accompanied by the instructors and the crew. 

 

After putting on our diving suits and the other equipment, we jumped from the boat into the turquoise blue waters. We had entered another world that was nothing but a mass of blue. I was curious to know why it was called the Red Sea. I was trying to find my feet in this new world but I couldn’t. They were tucked firmly into a pair of fins that would help me navigate in this aquatic sphere. I was breathing through the tube that was tucked in my mouth which was attached to an oxygen cylinder. 

I gazed around feeling lost and forlorn, while I watched the others swim fast and go ahead. I tried to keep up but I was still getting used to the fins. In this strange world, I couldn’t call out, shout or scream. At one point, I lost others including my husband who had managed to go ahead. I looked around frantically, terror written in my eyes that were hidden behind those goggles. Not a soul in sight except the dancing corals that swayed in a magical rhythm. 

 

Not sure which way to go, I clung on to a rock. To my surprise, I saw a shoal of yellow color fish moving in a synchronized manner. It was the most beautiful sight. For a minute, I forgot all about my worries and watched them swim towards me. Some swam past and nibbled on some corals. Some brushed against me which I assumed was their way of exhibiting warmth and curiosity about this ‘stranger’ in their abode. 

They didn’t seem to feel threatened by my presence. An invisible pact seemed to have been transmitted through our language of bubbles. I watched them slowly disperse and feed on their food. After a few minutes, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around. I was glad to see one of the instructors with a camera signaling in the underwater language, asking if I was ok. I nodded and followed him to the rest of the group which were looking at some more corals.  There were also other fish in different shapes and sizes. Yet it was those school of yellow fish that remained etched in my mind. 

 

Later when I went back to my world, I learned their names-yellowtail snappers. I never really learned why this place was called the Red sea. However, what I learnt was those finned creatures had their own unique way of exhibiting warmth and kindness.