Saoirse's Memories

"Why?"

Saoirse looked on in horror at the ripples in the water, the only evidence that a very expensive camera had just disappeared underneath it. A wave rolled under the boat and rocked it gently back and forth.

The brand new, expensive underwater camera was gone. They were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, with only uninhabited atolls and tiny islands on the horizon. It was a cloudless day, hot but breezy, and occasionally a sea bird came and nested on the railing.

Saoirse rounded on her father, whose fingers were still dangling over the taffrail. They had been saving for that camera for months and now he'd thrown it overboard like it had been nothing more than an apple core. Even more strangely, he was smiling.

"Huh, must have had too much coffee this morning."

"Dad."

"Shaky fingers."

"DAD!"

Saoirse started shaking her father as hard as she could- but succeeded mainly in making his sizeable belly wiggle.

"What's wrong?"

"That was so expensive! We can't afford another one!"

"Right you are. You'll have to go get it."

Saoirse stopped shoving and looked up at him, perplexed. "We're in the ocean, father."

"We're on an atoll, daughter. It'll have hit the reef underneath us. And it’s an underwater camera. Now go get it."

Saoirse stood backwards, hands on hips, glaring at her father.

Nateo turned away. “Think of it as a test. This is like what chiefs in training have to do. They have to retrieve something thrown into the ocean to prove they’re worthy.”

She heard the pop and fizz of a beer can being opened. Saoirse moved to stand in front of her father, glaring at him as he took a sip. When he looked back down at her she was still staring at him, menacingly.

“Dad, you’re just bored, aren’t you?”

“That… might be the case.”

Saoirse rolled her eyes and kicked off her flip flops, clambering up onto the side of the boat. She gave him one last look before she leapt in. “I’m throwing your beer in next time.”

“Hey! Don’t speak to-”

Saoirse didn’t hear the rest of his spiel, because she had already dived under the waves. The water was warm, almost like a bath, and it felt like a comforting hug as Saoirse was enveloped. She opened her eyes, adjusting to the stinging salt and lower light.

Beneath her lay a vast coral reef, an array of colours and fish filling her vision. However, she could see that the red colours were slightly muted- an indication that the corals were deeper than they looked. Saoirse cleared her ears and dove deeper, adjusting to the pressure as she went.

She counted the seconds as they ticked by, keeping her heart rate steady. She knew she could stay under as long as she wished. As she descended, she spotted the camera. Its black, clunky shape stood out against the yellow and pink corals surrounding it.

Saoirse reached towards the camera strap, careful not to touch any stinging coral. She gripped the strap and yanked the camera free, pulling it towards her. She turned it in her hands, making sure it had no dents or scratches.

Once satisfied, Saoirse placed the strap around her neck and prepared to ascend. But then, it became oddly dark. A shadow had passed over the reef. Saoirse frowned. There had been no clouds, and it wasn’t the right season for humpback whales to be calving.

She looked up, and Saoirse’s steady heart rate completely disappeared. A huge scaled body moved above her. She lost count- thirty feet, forty feet, fifty. It was bigger than any whale she’d seen in these parts.

The creature’s head twisted to look at Saoirse, and her breath escaped her in a cloud of bubbles. Through them, she could see a horned head and cold reptilian eyes. An underwater dragon? No, she’d seen their drawings in maps hundreds of times. A sea serpent.

Saoirse’s hands went for the camera. Fumbling, she managed to turn it on and take a picture. Her lungs felt like fire, screaming for air. The creature seemed to look past her before swimming onwards, tail whipping back and forth.

Saoirse swam upwards with a jolt of adrenaline, kicking for her life. When she emerged with a hoarse gasp, her father was at the port side in a moment. He reached for her arms, grabbing her and pulling her up into a strong embrace.

“Saoirse, what happened?”

“Did you- did you see-” she coughed. “Huge! Thing!”

“See what? It’s been quiet up here and on the radar.”

Remembering the camera, Saoirse turned it on and desperately looked for the picture she’d taken.

“I shouldn’t have asked you to do this, honey. I’m sorry. You must have scared yourself.”

“No, Dad, look-”

Saoirse froze, staring at the picture. She’d seen its horned head and face, clear as day. But the picture only showed a blurred boat and empty water.

Saoirse lowered the camera in disbelief, and buried her face in her father’s chest. She didn’t have proof. Again.