Children of the Tide

by Theo Shapiro

  ****

  After a bit more swimming Mandin found himself in an area of the ocean that seemed to have hills. The ocean floor rose and fell over and over. There were large rocks scattered about the area that the Wahoo used as shelter. Breeze led him to one of the smaller rocks and explained that this was their home.

  There was probably around forty other wahoo. Each of them gave Mandin a look that was a cross between suspicion and curiosity. None of them were willing to approach him and say anything though.

  Mandin was used to all the stares from other fish having traveled in areas where eels weren’t expected or welcomed. At Breeze’s and Kermit’s home they gave some tiny fish and scraps of leftover food that had been left over from a previous meal. After eating Breeze showed Mandin a place he could rest. Not that he could. Since getting to their home Kermit hadn’t left his side continually asking about other stories and places he’s been and seen. Breeze tried to get Kermit to give him some peace but she might as well have tried to stop the tide from changing.

  Mandin didn’t mind though, it was rare to find another fish that was interested in Mandin and he enjoyed sharing his experiences. In exchange he asked his own questions and learned as much as he could about Wahoo’s. Mandin learned that Wahoo’s were a prime target for the Fit Tún fishermen. This was the reason Breeze was scared of the surface. This was a prime area where the Fit Tún trolled the water with their fishing nets. He also learned of how they trick fish by placing food on the end of a hook and an unsuspecting fish would eat it and be dragged to the surface.

  Kermit pulled Mandin aside and told him this was how his father had died. He explained that before he was born his father had gone off to find some food for his mother and been tricked by the Fit Tún. One of the other fish had seen Kermit’s father being dragged to the surface and tried to save him. Wahoo, Kermit learned, have sharp teeth and if lucky can sometimes chew their way through the fishing line and escape. This particular line that Kermit’s father was attached to must have been extra tough because even with both fish’s efforts combined the Fit Tún was too strong and was pulled into a boat.

  “What happens then?” Mandin asked.

  Kermit was about to answer when they both saw Breeze was listening in. She had tears in her eyes. In a shaky voice she said, “No one is entirely sure. You see once the Fit Tún captures you there is no coming back. Know fish has ever returned from a Fit Tún boat.”

  Kermit interrupted his mother, “Yeah but there’s rumors. I’ve heard some of the kids say that the Fit Tún mount the fish like some kind of ornament in their homes.”

  “That’s a stupid story. Who would hang a fish on their wall?” Breeze scolded. “Now go to bed and let Mr. Mad Mandin get some sleep, I assume he’ll be on his way in the morning?”

  Mandin could tell this was a hopeful question from Breeze. She had been extremely kind to him but he could tell his presence wasn’t a welcome thing in the Wahoo community and others were starting to whisper about him. This didn’t bother Mandin, but he didn’t want to cause any trouble for Breeze or Kermit. “That’s right; I think I’ll be moving on soon. A lot to see and a lot of time to see it in.”

  “Isn’t the expression a lot to do and such little time to do it in?”

  “That doesn’t make sense. I don’t know how long I’m going to live and if I don’t know then how can I say if it’s a little time?”

  “Then how can you say you have a lot of time?” Kermit asked.

  Mandin paused and had to think for a moment. “That’s a very good point my young, speedy, friend. I never thought of it that way.”

  “I’m serious; it’s time to go to bed.”

  “Come on mom, Mandin is going to be leaving, can’t I hear one more story?”

  Mandin and Kermit both looked to Breeze as if they were asking to have desert before dinner. “Fine one more story, but then it’s straight to bed.” Breeze swam away muttering to herself, “They’re all probably made up anyway. Crazy eel exploring the ocean, that’s just not right.”

  Kermit turned back to Mandin. “Come on Mandin, one more, and make it a good one.”

  Mandin knew exactly what story he was going to tell. This was one of the scariest and most incredible things he had ever seen. It went against what Breeze had said about no fish ever surviving an encounter on Fit Tún ship. Not only did he know about a sea creature that was brought aboard a Fit Tún ship and lived, but also he was there and saw it happen.

  “Ok, ok, I got a story for you. This one is incredible, and I swear it’s all true, just like all my other stories.”

  “Even the one you told me about tricking a stingray that you were a rare ray from the Atlantic?”

  “Of course that was true. Do you want to hear this or not?” Kermit nodded several times and found a spot to sit and listen. Other than when Mandin was telling him a story the fish never seemed to stop moving.

  “Five years ago I left home like I usually do and went exploring. As always I had no destination in mind or plans of what I was going to do. I swam for two days passing reef after reef, but not finding anything worth stopping for. Then I saw this lone shark.” Kermit’s eyes grew to the size of a Squirrelfish’s. “This shark was massive, one of the biggest I’d ever seen, but he was also very young. He was a hammerhead shark and from what I knew about hammerheads is they are usually in a group during the day, and hunt alone at night. I was curious why this shark was all alone so I swam up to him.”

  “You just swam up to a shark? That’s crazy! He could have eaten you in a second.”

  “Another reason they call me Mad. Now I don’t want to keep you in suspense so I’ll let you know now…he didn’t eat me. I announced my presence and the shark actually welcomed me. He was fascinated by the fact that I was a bit of a loaner. I thin he felt a kinship to me and allowed me to swim with him for a time. I learned a lot about Hammerhead sharks and I told him some of my stories, though I was young and didn’t have as many to tell as I do now. Now listen closely Kermit, what I did was very dangerous. Even this shark admitted that any other might have eaten me, and he would have considered it himself except he had just eaten and was full.”

  “I heard sharks never get full. That they’re just a mindless eating machine.”

  “That’s a terrible myth. Sharks are dangerous but there not mindless killers as some would say. That sounds like a stupid story that the Fit Tún would tell. Well, this shark was quiet pleasant to be around. We swam together for quite a while. I’ll tell you what I felt like Poseidon himself traveling around with this massive shark. I thought I was the luckiest eel in the ocean, but then everything changed. We were in a spot of the ocean with several reefs, but there were very few fish around. We wondered where all the fish where, then out of know where we heard this dull humming sound. Not only could we hear it, but also we felt it. It was a change in the water, not like how the tide changes; more like a vibrating feeling. The sound kept getting louder and louder and the vibrating became stronger. For a moment I thought it was a sea quake, but then I saw it.”

  “What? What was it?” Kermit was now floating above Mandin, his fin flicking back and forth as if he was ready to swim right through the ocean floor into the Earth’s crust.

  Mandin took a moment before continuing. He acted like he was catching his breath, but Mandin was enjoying Kermit’s anticipation. When he thought the fish was about to explode he continued. “It was the bottom of a Fit Tún boat. I had seen them before and so had the shark I was with so we both knew the danger. The bottom of the boat was white. It wasn’t the biggest boat I had ever seen, but any Fit Tún ship is dangerous. We though the boat going to go speeding by, but then the engine cut off and it came to a stop. I wanted to swim away but the shark was curious and wanted to see what the Fit Tún was doing. Neither of us thought they knew we were there. Then a large net was thrown over the side of the boat. Somehow they knew exactly where we were. That net was thrown right where we were hovering. I don’t know if the net
moved through the waster that fast or if both of us were frozen in place, either way we were both caught in the net before we could even think to move. The net wrapped around us and smashed us both together.”

  “How did you escape?”

  “I’m getting there. At the time I was a small, skinny eel and this was a big thick rope. The netting was large enough for me to fit through and I was able to escape. The shark was much too large. He thrashed all around doing his best to break the ropes that trapped him. The nets had been pulled so tight that he wasn’t able to move his fin and get full strength behind him. I tried to help, honestly I did. I swam up to a part of the net and started chewing at the rope. I bit and chewed and gnawed but it didn’t do any good. The rope was too thick and strong to chew through. Not even the shark could chew through it. Then the net started to be pulled back to the surface, the shark along with it. I kept trying to chew the ropes, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. The shark told me to swim away and that there was nothing I could do, but I couldn’t just leave him. Instead I just helplessly watched as the shark was pulled out of the water into the boat. It all happened so fast, one minute we were swimming and a minute later the shark was gone. I was terrified and didn’t know what to do. I was about to return home, there being nothing else I could do when I heard a loud commotion from the surface. I looked back up at the ship and saw it was rocking back and forth. I heard metal clanging and screams coming from the boat. Then there was blood, lots of it. I had no idea if it was from the shark or the Fit Tún, but it kept flowing from the boat. Then all of a sudden the shark went over the side of the boat and splashed into the water. I was in complete shock. The shark didn’t move at first and blood was flowing from a massive wound. For a second I thought he was dead, but then his fin slowly started to move. I was in complete shock. I couldn’t believe he had gotten away from the Fit Tún. I swam up to him to see if he was ok, but when I reached his side I became as afraid of him as I was the Fit Tún. In that short amount of time he was on that boat he had become a different animal. The first difference was physical. The wound that the shark received was a massive cut that nearly ran the entire length of its body. The cut was deep and started at his eye and went down to his fin. The cut was so deep I thought the shark would die from blood loss. The next thing I noticed was his eyes. His eyes were black. They were black before but now they looked to be even blacker if that makes any sense. When I looked in his eyes I felt like I was staring into a bottomless pit. When I looked away from his eyes I saw his mouth and teeth were covered in blood. I thought it was from him, but then I saw there were scraps of clothes hanging from the side of his mouth. I asked him what happened but he didn’t say a thing. He just stared with those black eyes. Even though I was right in front of him I’m not sure he even knew I was there. The shark just stared at the bottom of that boat with a look of longing. This might sound crazy but I think that shark wanted to get back on the boat. He seemed to want to get back to the Fit Tún more than anything. I tried to get his attention a few more times, but he never looked at me. After another minute the boat’s engine started up and took off. Then as if the boat was calling to him the shark followed the boat. I called to him a few times, but I never learned his name and once the boat and shark disappeared from sight I thought calling out “Shark” in the middle of the ocean wasn’t the best idea.”

  Kermit now was sitting perfectly still with a look of awe on his face. “Then what happened?” He asked.

  “That’s it. I never saw the shark again. I don’t know what happened to him. For all I know he died of his wound or maybe the Fit Tún ship ended up recapturing him. I tell you what I do know. That shark changed after being on that boat. That was a decent shark before, but whatever came off that boat was pure evil. Listen to me Kermit, if you ever see a large shark with a large scar running down his side swim away. Just get away as fast as you can. Now it’s time for bed or your mom is going to give me a scar.”

  “Fine. Do you think I can go with you tomorrow?”

  “No, your place is here. You fit in with your family and have someone who loves you. I can’t say I have the same thing so I will continue to travel and share my wonderful self to the entire ocean.”

  “I’m not scared if that’s why you don’t want me to come? The Fit Tún doesn’t scare me.”

  “I believe you; I just don’t think it’s a good idea. Now I’m going to sleep. I have a long way to travel and I could use the rest.