Between Sea and Sky

HAPPY EASTER from Wallie’s Wentletrap–it’s a day of celebration, mystery, and hope!

Between Sea and Sky (330 Words)

When the water rises you begin to see things you never knew were there. The deep green of a wide ocean is the window of world apart, filled with life, wonder, and peril. And there is a special grace in the ships that carry us between, in a sail set like a bird’s  wing to the wind. Below the water as above it, the unique being of a ship is irresistible.

There are stories of creatures caught in a ship’s wake, drawn to them by that siren song in creaking timber and strained rope. I saw such a one myself.

I am not sure what it was. But it would be there at night, in glimpses and the sound of motion in water. I thought it must be shark or a dolphin because I saw the sheen of sleek scales. The next day I thought it was a mermaid or man because I caught the shine of a bare wet arm. But one day I saw it sitting in the ship’s bow and I realized, seeing long hair and wings, I did not know what it was.

Storms rise suddenly on the deep and we were caught in a gale. Our mizzen was split and because we were on a treacherous coast, we expected to sink. We said our prayers and did the best we could, even I, who knew as little as anyone about sailing then. We made it through, a miracle made all the more profound by the discovery that our hull had been damaged and was patched from the outside.

It was a miracle. Some of us were afraid. All of us were grateful. And there wasn’t a soul on board who didn’t say a blessing for the creature who followed and saved us. There are a great many strange beings in the world; strange, frightening, and unusual; and on the deck of a ship, between the sky and the depths, a friend is a rare and wonderful thing.

***

Written in response to Tourmaline’s Color Your World Challenge for April 1, “Caribbean Green.” Check it out!