Pretty Fin

by Smokey Moment

  The voice of Anita Baker piping into his ears. He looked around. A slight uneasy feeling came over him. He looked around again. Unable to understand why he couldn’t completely relax. He wondered if Paula’s call had gotten to him. He didn’t think so. He had received them before. She just wanted to hear his voice. It was nothing new. She was still having a hard time. And he understood. This was something else.

  He looked into the water. He tried to focus his eyes. He tried looking deep down. But water, unless absolutely clear and unmoving, was difficult to see through. He thought he saw something. He looked again. It was a fish.

  What is wrong with me? Am I still creeped out? There was no woman’s body in this water, he thought. Lance’s instincts were keen. He was right. There was something. Fin was under his feet. Down deep. Looking up at him. Watching him. Studying him. Her warmth and the vibrations of her tail picked up by him when she got close. Fin had returned. And he could sense her presence.

  Suddenly something swam beneath his dock. Whatever it was, it was now underneath him. Lance looked around. He felt insane. It was just a fish. What else could move that swiftly in water. Lance jumped up. He tried to remain calm. He descended the ladder once again. Determine to put his curiosity to rest. If it was a fish, it was large. But something about it was strange. It had what looked like hair. Long, flowy hair.

  Lance moved step to step, descending into the waters. The sun was setting. It wasn’t dark but the dusk would make it difficult to see in front of him. He was trained in water. But his skill would be of little use with no visibility. Plus, it was dangerous. But Lance continued. He submerged into the unknown. He swam around, moving slowly past the dock’s huge square shaped legs. He could see what looked like hair coming from behind one of the poles. That’s a woman, he thought. He now believed a swimmer was embarrassed at being caught on his property. But he was correct in what he said to his brother. He did not own the water. And whoever was hiding, didn’t understand they could be in the water near his house. Just not up on his land.

  Lance went under. He could see her attempting to hide. He approached cautiously. He jerked back when Fin emerged from behind one of the docks’ thick wood poles. He floated, staring intensely. She stared back. He was running out of air. He quickly swam to the surface to replenish himself and then returned. He looked around. He frantically turned his head side to side. She was gone. He swam out from the dock but then returned out of fear.

  Where did she go? he thought, as he searched the water. She was beautiful. Breathtaking. He wondered who she was. Where she was from. Her beauty had him in a trance.

  Lance continued his search. The sun was setting. Visibility was now down to a mere inch before him. Lance emerged from the water. He climbed the stairs. He stood on his dock, dripping wet and in shock. His mouth slightly open. His eyes scanning the surface hoping the woman popped up. She had no swim gear on. How was she able to stay under so long. Lance walked the perimeter of his property. He looked across the surface. She had to emerge at some point.

  “Everything alright?” his neighbor shouted, noticing his behavior. “Yeah. Thanks,” he replied, as he continued looking across the surface of the water. He never looked up. The neighbor looked at the water. “What did you lose?” the man asked. “Huh.” Lance replied, finally realizing he was engaged in a conversation that he was not mentally tuned in on. “Oh. Sorry. I was looking for something,” he said, as he walked back and forth. Lance walked back to the end of his dock. He stood with his hands in his pockets.

  Who is she? he thought. He was sure she was the one his nephew had seen in the water that day. He thought for a minute that it could be a neighbor. If it was, he wanted to meet her. He was intrigued. There was something in the way she looked at him. Even under water, he could see into her soul. Her eyes twinkled. She stared through him. She awakened something that was dormant for some time. And he wanted to know her.

  But she could be someone’s wife. He was new to the area. And it was a chance that this was what they did around those parts. And his biggest question was how she was able to stay under for so long.

  “Have a good evening Mr. Reed,” Maria said, as Lance walked past her. “Thanks Maria. See you in the morning,” he replied. Lance was anxious to get home. The woman who appeared interested in the waters around his home could possibly there again. He would find out. He was prepared this time. In his trunk was the gear he would need to get in the water and stay in it. He had purchased a mask, goggles, a suit, cylinder and a regulator. He would not need to leave and go to the surface.

  The ride home seemed longer. He was anxious. His curiosity was getting the best of him. He had left the office early. Cancelling two important meetings to go home and search when it would still be light out. He would see clearly. His mind raced. He wasn’t sure why he cared. Why he needed to get another look at the mystery beauty who loved the water. Particularly, the waters around his home. He wondered why she looked so comfortable in it. Showing no stress at losing oxygen. No interest in popping up and getting more. How was it possible.

  He thought maybe his eyes had deceived him. He asked the man at the supply shop, if new technology was out. He asked if it was possible that the diver had something in her mouth delivering oxygen in a different manner. He told the man a woman was in the water, and she had no obvious swimming gear on. That she never looked distressed. And never attempted to go to the surface. The man looked at him as if he had gone mad. Lance realized how crazy he must have sounded and quickly changed the subject. He questioned his sanity. He was under stress from the losses in his life. It could be his mind playing tricks on him. He quickly discounted that theory. Nothing was wrong with him. He was fine. He saw what he saw. And he was going to see it again.