And then he saw her...

       And then he saw her...

As the couple came down the hill to their favorite beach, they rounded a bend ,stopping in their tracks. This was their last day on the island and they spotted something they had not anticipated. Hundreds of spinner dolphins were observed at the very edge of the bay. They could tell the species because they were flipping themselves high in the air up and spinning their thin bodies in a 360-degree arc. 

“Quick honey,” said the man’s wife. “You swim so much better than me. Please take my camera and swim out there as close as you can. Get some good shots honey!”

The man immediately sprang into action.  Dropping his gear on the beach, he grabbed the camera from her. Running as fast as he could down the rest of the hill to the beachhead, he donned his snorkeling gear before into the beautiful bay. Usually he would check the color of the safety flags. Not today. There was no time.  He was on a mission to please his new bride.  Her camera was way better than his. It did very well in the water and took good pictures even at large distances. This should be a piece of cake.

The dolphins were almost at the north end of the bay where the ancient lava rock formed a jetty. After several strokes in their direction, he looked up to monitor their position. They were still there, however, appeared to be headed out to the channel between the two islands.  This worried him a little because, if they made it to the channel, they would soon be headed out to the open sea. He picked up his speed to try to catch them before this happened. 

There was little tension in his muscles so far. This was probably because they had been swimming every day for the past two weeks.  As a result, he was confident that he could cover the distance of 200 yards quite easily if he swam a little faster.   Before he picked up his pace, he momentarily raised his head and noticed the dolphins were still playing and spinning in front of him.  They were still not close enough for him to take the optimal pictures.    

The man increased his pace one more time.  Therefore, he could feel the tension in the muscles and tendons of his forelimbs. He was in good shape but not a professional swimmer.  As a result, he began to feel a dull ache in his shoulders. “I should be okay”, he told himself, as he continued the quest. Finally, he reached the break between the reef point and the channel.  He looked up again. He was still about fifty yards shy of his goal and still not close enough to get good photographs. The man was careful to avoid the deep water past the reef in this channel.  He had read that the channel was called the Alenuehaha channel that stretched between Maui and the Big Island of the Hawaiian Islands. It was on average 30 miles long and 6000 feet deep at its deepest point. It was a tricky channel between the two islands that could easily take one out to the open ocean if they were not careful. It was labeled as one of the world’s most dangerous channels by professional channel swimmers and called “it can kill you ha ha” by the local Hawaiians. 

 The dolphins had moved less this time. One more push should do it. He plodded on for a few more strokes at an even higher speed. He looked up again and saw that the island of Maui was now closer than expected. In his effort to keep out of the channel the reef break had taken him in the wrong direction! 

He felt the water temperature change about the same time as a small tug below him began to move him in the direction of the open water.  He was being pulled into the dreaded channel! Prudently, he stopped immediately and reversed direction. He swore into his mask as he raced to the shoreline.

“Forget the damn dolphins! I knew better than this, dammit!”

He knew better than to get caught in the channel for long.  Changing his tactic, he now hoped to swim into a long-shore current. It could possibly carry him close to land. 

After what seemed like hours of swimming in what he thought was the correct direction he stopped briefly. He raised his torso to assess his progress.  The man was still way too far from the beachhead. After all that time, it seemed as if he had been swimming backwards.  If he kept going, he would eventually run out of energy. A stoppage would cause him to drift back into the channel. He looked in the direction of the beach. The people looked like ants on a flat desert. They appeared so far away. Too far away! The man, however, had no wish to die today. He could not die today. What of his new family? How embarrassing for his wife whom he knew would take the blame. No way he would allow this to happen! He had to keep swimming and forget the notion of giving up. He glanced at his watch and swam on.  

After about fifteen minutes of swimming, he began to see flashes of light in the deep water below him. He felt an instant sensation of fear and danger. He shook off the feeling and continued to swim. He was almost positive that he saw a filiform shape moving deep below him.  As the tapered body approached him, he saw unmistakable stripes on the sides of the fish. His experience told him that it was a tiger shark. Rather than panic and swim faster, he slowed his pace and tried to calm his breathing. He had no wish to be food for the dangerous predator so tried his best to act as normal as possible. Contrary to popular knowledge, sharks do not typically want to attack or eat humans. They do, however, detect fear. When this happens, they are more prone to attack.    

Knowing this important bit of shark information, the man slowly started swimming in the opposite direction of the shark as slow as possible. Somehow this tactic seemed to calm his mind and keep it off the other problem he had no solution for. How could he ever get back to the beach?  He had no immediate answer yet. Regardless, he continued to swim slowly and attempted to go in the direction he thought might be away from the current.   As he moved through the water his motions began to feel robotic. He began to realize this may be the beginning of his own mortality. 

If this were the case, it was quite possible, he was dying already. The man remembered his college psychology class which had discussed the five stages of dying. In this scenario he may have already witnessed the first four stages. Denial, when he told himself that today was not a good day to die. Anger could only be explained by the way he felt about himself at his own stupidity. The shark had helped with the bargaining stage. He had made a deal with the shark that if he calmed down, he would not need to be eaten. But now his fear of the animal had all but left him.  He was depressed that he did not accomplish the task at hand. It was now only a matter of time before his energy would completely be drained from him.  He would eventually give up. If this were to occur, he would allow the water to enter his body and drown. 

Acceptance? How long would it take, and would it be painful or peaceful? He hoped for the latter.  He also began to think of his wife and his family. Ah yes, this was the part where in the last few minutes of your life you revisit what you have done. All your dreams, your passions, and your emotions flash by you in moments of time. He was looking forward to this part. The movie of your life in a few final moments. 

His body began to slow down even more. His arms and legs began to feel like dead weights as they struggled through the rough water.

 “Wait a moment,” he told himself. Rough water? This jolted the man out of the acceptance stage of death. The rough water may mean something positive. It may mean waves on a reef!  There was a slim chance that survival was still possible.  He began to swim again. It was unbelievable that he had any strength left. Against all odds, his arm muscles worked for just a few more strokes. He put his head down to look under the deep blue water. He saw what appeared to be the beginnings of coral heads. It was the reef.

Somehow, he had made it to the reef! 

His exhilaration was short lived. His body was spent. It was almost as if his neurons were no longer attached to his muscle cells. He was paralyzed. Before he sank below the waves, he saw that the reef was too treacherous to negotiate. He would still have to try to make it to the beach. That was at least 100 yards away.  Even if it were ten meters his body would fail him. 

So once again, the man jumped to the acceptance stage. He relaxed to let his body sink below the waves to take him to his death. He talked to himself.

“This is the way I will die. No movie of my life No fear or regret. I have had a great life and am ready to go. Thank you, my God, for giving me this great life and allowing me to walk the planet as you have. Thank you for letting me live on this planet and enjoy the life I have had so far. Please take care of my wife and family in my absence. Accept me into heaven so I can walk with you.”

The man began to feel a warm hug as his weightless body began to succumb to the ocean waves. He kept his eyes open so he could experience the joy of life one more time before he breathed the ocean in and joined his God. 

And then he saw her...