Shark Lover
By
Gracie Marie
Copyrighted © 2013. Gracie Marie
Prologue
The sun was shining down the horizon along the coastline of the shore beginning the end of a gorgeous day on Stinson Beach. Ruminants of children’s existence lined the beach in the form of sandcastles and abandoned sand buckets. The beach was less crowded at this time of day with the exception of couples taking a romantic walk down the beach. He wished that she could have been with him in this moment; soaking it all in. She would have already been deep in the water calling for him to come join her. She was brave and had a sense of pride that he had always admired since the day he met her. He missed her smile, the way she said his name so care freely. With her memory in his mind he joyfully sat in the sand reminiscing of the perfect love he had.
How great it felt to be alive, to have the world at his feet, ready for the taking. He sat along the coastline taking in the gorgeous view; life was too short to waste time doing anything that didn’t bring him happiness. He knew the ocean was where he belonged. His dad had taken him to this beach. When he was just five years-old he had mastered the art of surfing a wave with his bare hands. It was an art not a skill, his father had told him. Surfing was a skill that used both the mind and the body; forcing them to come together to create beautiful magic.
He looked into the dark blue water thinking the waves seemed to be calling his name. He grabbed his long red surfboard and put it under his left arm. His surfboard had belonged to his father. He brought it with him as if he was bringing a memory of his magnificent old man with him. Red was his father’s favorite color, he said the board was composed of good luck. Red was the color of blood which brought life; not death. His father was not only his teacher, but his best friend. He missed him on warm ocean days like this.
His wetsuit was still dry and his dark brown hair had yet to become wavy from the salty ocean water that he loved so much. His light brown eyes glimmered from the reflection of the cool blue waves he throttled into. He pounded the board into the water and jumped on top of it as fast as he could. He paddled along with the waves. As his father would say, it was as if he and the water worked in unison; they had truly become one.
Where he surfed wasn’t for the faint of heart, it was a place where serious surfers came to catch a wave along the California coastline. She was the reason he had come back to this beach. Without her, he would have never faced his past or done things that put fear into the gut of his stomach. Ever since his dad died, a piece of him had been missing. Through her he was starting to find himself again and the things that had brought him true happiness in this world.
It had been a long time since he had been on a board. In the wake of his depression, he had given up everything that made him who he was. He had forgotten what surfing had meant to him. It used to mean everything to him. He would wake up and run to the beach across the bays of San Francisco, his beautiful hometown where he had been born and raised. He would get on his red board and surf the day upon end. His dad would meet him at the beach around 5 o’clock to watch his son’s amazing strength and talent unfold across a sea of crashing waves. He would loudly clap his hands as his son rode the waves with the true graces of a pro.
And to think he had almost gone pro, but life had a different path for him. Through school he realized his dream was to be a marine biologist. Studying the amazing creatures of the ocean had become his passion. He appreciated sea lions most. They had become some of his closest friends. He loved to swim and dive with them, when he wasn’t working of course.
Shrugging off his thoughts, he realized that he had already paddled out deep into the ocean. The coastline looked like a small speck of sand that had looked unreachable at this distance. He started to worry that he had come out too far. What had he been thinking? He hadn’t surfed in years and here he was deep out in the ocean with only a few other surfers behind him. He decided to momentarily decompensate the fear as the perfect wave approached him. He hopped on the board and took off like a rocket. He zipped in and out of the wave until he fell off of his board. The ocean pulled him into its strong currents as he came up laughing with glee. That ride had felt amazing. He had remembered what had drawn him to the ocean in the first place.
He drifted back onto his board with a huge smile plastered across his face. This was what life was all about. Taking chances and living with no regrets. He could feel his heart scream with happiness. This is what he had been missing all of those years. He didn’t know why he had ever agreed to give it up. As he began paddling on his board again, he noticed something gray swimming underneath him. He hoped with all of his heart that it would be a sea lion. He stuck his head into the water and saw white fluffy whiskers and dark brown eyes staring back up at him. In his mind he silently named him, Oscar. He smiled and ran his hand over Oscar’s head. He handed him some shrimp from his back suit pocket as he began paddling for the next wave. Oscar swam away quickly as the water became rougher and the waves came crashing down.
He smiled as his newly made friend splashed away into the deep currents of the ocean. He caught wave after wave, each one bringing more excitement then the next. He looked down at his watch, surprised it was already 5 o’clock. He realized it was time to get back now. The sun had almost set and he needed to get home. He paddled quickly back to shore, ignoring the forceful waves crashing down around him. A dark shadow was creeping up underneath him. He smiled hoping it was Oscar coming back again for some more shrimp. His smile went dead after he saw a sharp key shaped fin and a razor cut tail pop out of the water.
There wasn’t even any time to scream. His board felt as if it been snapped in half and the Jaws of Life were already cutting his intestines in half. He tried to get away in panic throwing his body to the half of the board that was left and pushing his feet to kick. It was no use. The shark had his entire body in his mouth and it didn’t seem like he planned on letting go anytime soon. The pushes, thrusts and kicks were getting him nowhere. The shark pulled him underwater and shook him as fiercely as remotely possible. He was losing conscientiousness and his world was turning as black as the ocean. He couldn’t give up without a fight. He tried punching the tip of the nose of the shark in the hope he would let the rest of his aching body go. He used the knuckles of his fists in an effort to fight off the terror that was now his life.
By some miraculous act of God, the shark’s jaws left his stomach and sank back into the ocean. He couldn’t feel his legs anymore. All he felt was intruding pain all throughout his body. The thought of moving killed his soul. He didn’t want to die here in the middle of the ocean alone and bloodied. He used his last ounce of strength to get back on the small piece of his board he had left. He tried to regain his composure for her. He couldn’t die here, he couldn’t lose her. Surfing had been replaced by her. She was his everything. He fought to stay alive for her.
His last thoughts were on the way her blond hair curled around her face when her hair was soaked from the ocean. He loved being in the ocean with her. He loved being with her. Period. But he grew tired losing his strength and his will to live. She had to know she was his everything if he died. He struggled to take out a pen in his back pocket that luckily remained a piece that was part of his body. He uncapped the pen with his mouth. He pulled his bloody hand up on the board to write her name and that he loved her. This might be the last piece she would have of him, he wanted it to be special.
All he saw was red all around him. His hands were soaked in blood. As he reached down to touch his stomach, he realized half of it was gone. He took the gold ring off of his left hand and placed it above his scribbled writing. His fingers slipped off his board as the world around him blackened. He sank into oblivion, becoming the one thi
ng he never wanted to be. A statistic of another death in the Red Triangle.
Chapter 1
Present Day
She always believed that God had a plan for everyone, she just didn’t think hers would turn out this way. She sat on a rock overlooking the sun setting across Ocean Beach, reminiscing about the better times in her life. Three years ago everything had been perfect. She thought things were too good to be true and apparently she had been right. She had just finished her graduate degree in Marine Biology, landed her dream job at an aquarium and had met the love of her life. In what felt like an instant it was all gone.
Nothing had been going Cathy’s way lately. She hadn’t worked in over a year. It wasn’t that she couldn’t find a job; she was just too depressed to even look. The aquarium had laid her off two years ago. They had told her to take some time off and grieve. They hoped she would come back eventually, she just never did. Marine life wasn’t her passion anymore. It reminded her too much of him. Everything in the aquarium reminded her of him. She couldn’t quit crying when she went to work; not that being at home all the time made her feel any better. She wasn’t the same person she was three years ago and everyone around her knew it.
Cathy’s mother had been worried about her constantly. She suggested Cathy pursue therapy to start the process of dealing with his death. Cathy was too strong-willed for therapy. Since she was a child, she had been fearless and never let anything in the world hold her back. She’d jumped across rivers, climbed mountain tops and even survived surfing in the Red Triangle. She didn’t feel so fearless anymore. She didn’t do anything in the water anymore. She barely made it to the beach even though she lived ten miles away from it.
She ran a hand through her sandy blond hair and let out a small sigh. She didn’t know what to do with her life now that he was gone. He had been her rock, her salvation. He always knew how to protect her from danger. From the day she met him, she knew he was the one. A tear ran down the left side of her cheek as she thought about the day he first told her he loved her. They had been walking along the sandy beach together hand in hand. He looked deep into her crystal blue eyes and told her he loved her more than anything in the world. He asked her if she felt the same. Cathy didn’t even have to think about the question. He could see the answer in her warm blue eyes.
Everyday life was too painful to live without him. When he first died, she figured she would just lease another apartment other than the one they shared so much time together in. It ended up being too hard to get rid of the apartment. Too many great memories had occurred there. She couldn’t just throw all of his stuff away and move on. She had lost many friends since his death. It wasn’t because they hadn’t been supportive, it was just she didn’t want to talk to anyone let alone go out of the apartment.
She stood up and started walking back to her apartment in the heart of San Francisco. It was supposed to be the city of love, yet she felt so painfully alone. She watched the sun finally set into the distance and let her back turn on the light. Life was even harder to live now because she finally had the answers. She thought for three years she wanted to know, but right after the moment she found out she knew she had made the wrong decision. Her life had changed forever. She had to accept it as it was or suffer the consequences. There would be no turning back now.
Chapter 2
Three years earlier
The moment their eyes met across the room, she could feel the spark. She knew he was the one she was meant to share her life with. From one look into his dark brown eyes, she was sold. Cathy tried to intently focus on Professor Tyson as he droned on and on about Molecular Evolution, but the new mysterious attractive guy sitting in the last row of the bio lab had her full attention. She gave the cute guy a slight smile and looked down, hoping that Professor Tyson would think she was studying her notes. He didn’t buy it.
“Cathy, Tell me specifically about the mechanisms and dynamics of change at the molecular level of DNA and proteins.” Professor Tyson clearly stated as he gave her a hard stare.
Cathy looked down at her notes. She realized she hadn’t been taking any. She started to panic looking through all of her notes and then grabbing her text book shuffling through the pages hoping to somehow find the answer that he was looking for. “Um, Professor Tyson, you see mechanisms and dynamics, um change…” She could feel her face burning red as she tried buying more time to find the correct answer.
“Clearly Cathy does not have the answer to this complex question,” Professor Tyson rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Would anyone else like to take a whack at it?”
Cathy could feel the class staring at her. She couldn’t believe she had missed an opportunity to look intelligent to the new guy in the class. She had made such a fool of herself that she wanted to disappear from the room as quickly as possible. What was wrong with her? She had just been accepted into graduate school to receive an MS in Marine Biology, which had always been her goal since she was eight years-old. She always knew all the answers, the new guy had distracted her brain so much, she wondered if she had any neurons left floating around up there.
“Well, does anyone have an answer to this question?” Professor Tyson asked of the class impatiently. “You are all in the MS program for Marine Biology, I know it’s a beautiful day out but I need some answers. I don’t have time to wait all day.”
Cathy wished she could come up with the answer. She knew nobody wanted to answer the question out of sympathy for her embarrassment, which made her feel even worse. She had just started this class a week ago, she didn’t need any other reason for Professor Tyson to dislike her. She knew he wasn’t very fond of her from the first day when she came to class soaked in her wetsuit. But what could she do? She had been swimming with dolphins along the coast line and didn’t want to miss out on their rare visit to the shore. She covered her hands over her face in humiliation as the new guy raised his hand.
“Yes, over there in the back. Please answer. What is your name again?” Professor Tyson said in his regular monotone voice.
“Marc, Sir.” He smiled in Cathy’s direction as she blushed.
“Okay Marc. Let’s hear it.” He pushed up the glasses on the brim of his nose to the tip of his eyes so he could glare harder at Marc from afar.
“Well, sir, DNA is a dynamic and adaptable molecule. The nucleotide sequences found within it are subject to change as the result of a phenomenon called mutation. It can prove harmless, helpful, or even hurtful. It really depends on how a particular mutation modifies an organism's genetic makeup. Actually a mutation may even cause melodramatic changes in the physiology of an affected organism. Of course, in order to better understand the varying effects of mutations, it is first necessary to understand what mutations are and how they occur.” Marc ran a hand through his dark brown hair as he continued. “And there are many ways to do that. Mutations can be grouped into two main categories based on where they occur. The two groups are somatic mutations and germ-line mutations. Somatic mutations take place in non-reproductive cells. Many kinds of somatic mutations have no obvious effect on an organism and this is because genetically normal body cells are able to compensate for the mutated cells. Nevertheless, certain other mutations can greatly impact the life and function of an organism. For example, somatic mutations that affect cell division are the basis for many forms of cancer. These are cells that are allowed to divide uncontrollably.”
Cathy’s jaw dropped in awe as she looked over at Marc. Not only was he adorable, he had a mind that knew molecular science inside and out. Even after completing her undergrad degree in Molecular Biology, she didn’t think she could fully answer a question as completely as Marc just had. Not only had he answered the question in depth, he had been full of ease and confidence. While Cathy loved Marine Biology and everything that went into it, she wasn’t much into studying by the book. She would rather go out and explore the depths of the oceans to find her answers.
“Good. Thank you Marc, for your descriptive answe
r.” Professor Tyson said looking unimpressed. He was a tough old geyser, who never got excited about anything. Teaching was the norm to him. He went straight back into his monotone voice droning on about DNA separation as Marc looked over in Cathy’s direction.
Cathy couldn’t help but smile back at him. She had never been this distracted in her life, especially by a man. Sure she had men come in and out of her life; much like her father had, but nothing ever serious had developed from any of it. She had always liked it that way. She wanted to be on her own. Cathy had always prided herself on being an independent adventurer, who never needed anyone by her side to tackle down her fears. Being with people crowded her need to find the next quest for her taking. With another look at Marc, she realized she would be willing to change the dynamics of her personality for him maybe even her life for him. She shook her head wishing the thought to go away she didn’t even know him and she was willing to sacrifice her life for him. This thought scared her to the core.
* * *
She had officially lost her mind, she realized as she walked out of the classroom. Cathy smoothed out the wrinkles in her lime green shirt as she walked down the hall. What had she been thinking, not even attempting to answer Professor Tyson’s question? The whole class was most likely contemplating how she was even allowed into the graduate program to begin with. And more importantly, Marc probably thought she wasn’t intellectually stimulating enough for him now. She looked down at the floor in disappointment. He probably assumed she was a moron, but he still had looked at her intently even after she missed the question. That had to mean something right?
“Hey, Cathy.” Marc walked from behind Cathy and grabbed her by the shoulder. “Is that class always so intense? I could feel Professor Tyson practically breathing down my throat for the answer to that question.”
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