Black Tipped Dorsal Fin

He was horrifyingly magnificent as he glided just below the surface of the water. I fought the urge to reach out and stroke his dorsal fin and instead refocused my attention on my scuba gear. I tightened the hose down on my tanks and looked up at my diving partner Jamie. He already had all his gear on and was sitting on the edge of the boat, watching me. I blushed with embarrassment and slid the pack onto my back before securing the diving mask onto my face.

No matter how many times I dove, there was always a fleeting moment of panic as the mask went on. Suction cupped to my face, claustrophobia overwhelmed me, then passed as quickly as it had arisen. I patted on the plastic to ensure a tightened seal, then took my position next to Jamie. I turned to look behind me. Last thing you wanted when diving into the ocean was to land on top of the shark as you fell backwards from the relative safety of the boat. With a gentle tap on my hand, Jamie saluted and summersaulted into the deep blue below. Taking one last look behind me, I let go of the edge and splashed into the ocean oasis.

Diving into the ocean was like visiting another world, a foreign, alien planet vastly different than our own. Here, life exploded in vibrant displays of colors as they ungulated past us. I flipped myself over and took in the scene. Large patches of coral, somehow untouched by the disasterous hand of man sprouted from craggy outcroppings. Along the ocean floor several feet below us, an octopus scuttled its way, morphing into a wide array of colors as it traversed the terrain. I twisted around in the water, enjoying the weightlessness of my body. I spotted Jamie, who had dove down to the bottom and was avidly following the octopus, who had quickened its pace substantially. I laughed, which sounded hollow as it reverberated around my closed mask environment.

"Isn't he magnificent?" Jamie's voice crackled over the radio. He fluidly turned, and I nodded in agreement. The octopus found a crevice in one of the rocky walls and quickly squeezed his body in and out of sight of us. Jamie laughed and began to paddle his way back up to me. I turned away and scanned the area, looking for the reason we had dove in the first place.

After a moment, I could faintly make out the outline of our quest. He was small, barely larger than Jamie, but I knew that size never translated to danger levels. Taking note that we were now in the water, he began to make his way over to us. He was shark number 1485: a black tipped reef shark, codenamed Spunk by Jamie. He swam silently through the water, barely disturbing the current, and I stretched my hand out towards him.

We had been tracking Spunk for around two years now. We knew his favorite food spots, his mating habits, and his injuries. As the shape approached, I noted the mangled left fin, scars left by a boat engine that Spunk had gotten a little too interested in. I looked to my right and saw Jamie hovering next to me. He nodded his head and the two of us separated to give Spunk some room to swim through. Spunk's eyes, deceptively small compared to his six foot frame, glistened in the crystal clear water. Giving his tail an emphasized flick, he propelled himself past us. Once again, I fought the urge to stroke his side and turned to watch him swim off in pursuit of food. I heard the gentle beep of my oxygen tank letting me know that it was almost time to go back up.

As Jamie and I began to head for the surface, I felt a nudge on my flipper. I quickly looked down and to my surprise, I saw Spunk nuzzling it. I reached up and grabbed Jamie's leg. As he looked down, Spunk swam up to eye level with me, and gently put his face up against my goggles. As he closed his eyes and for a moment, it was like the world had frozen in time. Against my better judgement, I reached up and gently stroked his nose. Spunk nuzzled my palm before opening his eyes and quickly swimming away. I floated for a moment as though in a trance. After two years of being horrified of humans, Spunk had finally learned to trust me. I looked down at my palm, then up at Jamie.

"Did that... did that really just happen?" I said, my voice shaky with emotion.

"Sure did. You really have a gift, you know that?" I could hear the smile in Jamie's words, and the two of us ascended to the surface. We boosted ourselves into the boat and pulled off our gear. As the boat captain started up the engine, I looked back across the smooth, glassy surface of the vast watery expanse. Like a phantom, Spunk had disappeared into the depths. It would be a few months until I would get to dive back in with Spunk. There were other sharks to track, after all. But, as I pulled the mask from my face, I took one more look at my palm, and gently curled my fingers in. In my twenty-two years as a scientist, I had never felt more alive, or that my work mattered more than it did right now. I smiled to myself, then turned back to the rest of the crew.

"All right," I said, unable to hide the smile still plastered to my face, "Where to next?"