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Note:
Obviously, this story is a work of fiction,
and all characters are entirely imaginary.
If anyone takes this story's anti-heroine
as an excuse to think poorly of women,
I note here that it was written as a
reverse spin on selfishness...
just to keep things interesting.
Wishing you all unselfish love,
the Author
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Carly kicked her toes in the cool blue water, pushing off from the sandy ocean floor. The shallow water of the coral reef pulsed with sunlight and sea creatures of every color. It was dizzyingly bright and intensely alive. She took a breath through her mask and silently counted the time she had left before she would have to turn back. That was the part she hated: leaving this beautiful place for the grey reality of routine. Well, she wouldn't let what couldn't be helped ruin her enjoyment now. She heard a remembered run of softly fingered piano keys as a tune from her classical music appreciation course swept through her head. What a perfect soundtrack for the peaceful ripple around her. She smiled against the mouthpiece of her air tank as the water caressed her wetsuit. One more dive into the grotto before she left. She was sure there was something she had nearly seen on the previous dive. As she had turned to go the last time, she had seen something out of the corner of her eye. It had fascinated her, but she hadn't had time to explore. If she kept an eye on the time, she could have a quick look before she swam back to the dive boat.
Parting the sleek waves, Carly moved forward and down, intent on her destination. The water grew dimmer, murkier, as she pushed downwards, and she clicked on a small lamp on her tank. She could see, just barely, where she would have to move most quickly, past the narrowing in the cavern. Once she was past the bottleneck, she would be in darker but clearer waters. Then she could see, perhaps even without her lamp. Some of the creatures and sea plants that grew in the dark waters glowed with a cool, rather eerie light of their own. A chill crept down her neck, and the music faintly echoing in her head changed tone, growing deeper and quieter, with a trill of scales that somehow made Carly's neck shiver as if twitching off a small insect. "Oh, stop it," she scolded herself mentally. "You're going to finally get to see that thing... whatever it was... that intrigued you so much before." A nervous corner of her mind wondered why a half-seen movement in a reef filled with moving, swirling fish, living coral and other sea life would catch her attention so particularly. She dismissed the foolish thought. Onward.
Her fingers found the edges of the sharp coral without quite touching them, even with her gloves. Cautiously, she slipped through the opening, slowly enough to avoid the danger of snagging her wetsuit through carelessness, but quickly enough to follow the flow of the current as it pushed her through. Darkness surrounded her, punctuated rather than really lightened by her tiny dive lamp. In a way, she resembled just one more creature of the deep, floating in the cool abyss with her own dim glow to guide her. But as the greenish light of the swaying sea plants surrounded her, she switched it off. Best to save it, just in case. She could see now, fairly well. She drew in air carefully, making sure not to unconsciously hold her breath in excitement. It had been just here... what was it that she had seen?
There! Was that it?
Sliding through the water with a small, expert motion, Carly followed the movement of a darkness that was somehow blacker than the crevice it darted into. This was nothing she had seen before in any of her books or dive videos. The long, graceful flare of... tail? membrane? rippled and flourished before disappearing. Where had it gone? Putting caution aside, she swooped after it. The vague aura of green showed her an inner grotto she had never known existed. With wildly pounding heart, she followed the mysterious flutter into what appeared to be a vast underwater cavern. Carly checked her tank. Still time. Her finger fumbled at the switch for the lamp. She would need it here, further in. The carpet of sea grasses did not extend this deep, and the water looked cold and empty. Suddenly, the flash of movement was very close, passing just over her head. With a startled jerk, Carly's hand knocked painfully against the lamp. It hurt a little bit, but with relief she saw that the lamp still appeared to be working, although with a rather disconcerting flicker. Now her eyes were playing tricks on her. Could there be more than one of the... whatever it was...? The water moved around her, and she could not really tell what was motion and what was illusion.
