Mom, I didn't listen to you today and swam too close to the shore. I was enraptured by the loud noises and the liveliness of those living on the land. Their loud, vibrating music pulsated through the water, the onslaught of different aromas stretching far beyond their area. I was too curious, too comforted in the warm ocean water. I swam too close to the shore. At first when the humans saw me, they were excited. They pointed, took pictures, and I squealed in delight. I flipped around, showed them how elegantly I can swim. I didn't see the hands, Mom, I didn't know. At first I thought they wanted to touch my skin, and I was apprehensive at best. Then they started grabbing me, Mom, I couldn't move. I was surrounded. The once comforting waves seemed to seal the deal in my prison of human arms and hands. Their fingers, grubby with curiosity, grabbed hold of me, wrestled me out of the water, and then I realized I couldn't breathe. I struggled, mom, I really tried to get out of their tenacious grip. I writhed, I squirmed, I tried to remember what you taught me. But I couldn't breathe, I was losing air, and I was slowly losing consciousness, as the clumsy humans tried to wrestle me onto shore. I saw brief, blinding lights from their gadgets in their hands. I saw smiles, wide mouths, loud voices, warm sand, a sea of hands. Mom, I didn't listen to you today, and swam too close to the shore.I'm sorry.
I learned something today. I was swimming around the ocean, like I normally do, eating my morning meal, enjoying the warmth of salty water and the clear air. I came upon a mass of floating debris, something I had never seen before. It wasn't green like algae, it wasn't seaweed. It was a pristine white, slowly deteriorating from countless days floating in water. I don't know how it happened. I think I ate it, but suddenly it was like I couldn't breathe. Something was stuck inside me, something foreign, something unnatural. I panicked, I flailed, I didn't know what to do. What was happening inside my body? I couldn't smell anymore-- I couldn't get the air I needed. I swam around for minutes, hours, days, looking for something to help me. My body was wrought with exhaustion, I couldn't smell, and I had a hard time breathing. This wasn't normal, I knew that. Suddenly, when I was almost at the point of exhaustion, I was lifted out of the water. Hands were on me, around me. Someone was holding me. I was just about to give in when a searing pain started coming from my nostril. It felt like it was on fire. These people were hurting me worse than I was already hurting. Blood started dripping from my nose, and I tried to pull away from the pain. Just make it stop, I thought, just stop hurting me. It was almost as if they heard me, because a second later, the pain lessened. I could breathe again, I could smell the salty air, the humans around me, my blood that had come from my nose. I was back. I learned a lot from that today,I learned that not all humans are awful creatures, and some right the wrongs their counterparts commit.
Sharks are natural predators. We tend to be the king of the sea, and everyone swims away in fear of us when we're hungry. We get what we want because of our fearsome sets of teeth, our sleek build, our speed in the water. I'm used to being respected, listened to, and doing what I want. I was minding my own business one day, just swimming near the shore where the water was warmer and the people are more cluttered. There were a lot of them, sunning themselves on the sand, and I didn't see many out in the water so I thought it was safe to bask there. Plus, no one tells a shark what do to. I must've not been paying attention too carefully, too absorbed in my own pleasure from the warm salty water, but hands were suddenly grabbing me. I tried to swim away, I am the king of the ocean for goodness sake! I bared my teeth, I wriggled my body but they kept hauling me the opposite direction of the open sea. A large, life preserver was fitted around my head. How ironic, I thought, that you're capturing me with something that saves you. I could hear squeals of women, shouts of loud men, announcing my appearance on the beach. The hot sun beat down on me, the hot sand burning me from underneath. I soon realized my struggles were useless, my discomfort and fatigue unnoticed. As I slowly dried up under the relentless heat,I realized that sharks are not the only predators.
