She's a Shark

The story begins on the docks of the beautiful Atlantic. A shark attack occurred for the first time in 20 years. By the time the coast guards could get involved, the head and torso of the young man only remained. One of the two coast guards jumped in the water to remove the remains. As the guard got ready to enter the boat, a shark was approaching quickly. The guard on the boat instantly shot the shark with an arrow. The shark was no longer moving, and his fin began to disappear into the water. As the guard in the water goes back on the boat, he says, “Oh boy, we better fish that shark out and get those headache pills ready, you know Mary going to have something to say.” The other guard laughs and replies, “Nets already ready, don’t need to say her name twice. We had no choice. She cannot say anything.” Once the shark was on board, they headed to shore, where Mary was already waiting.

Mary specializes in marine work and has a general interest in the population at greater risk of extinction. Over the 20 years, the Atlantic became the number one fishing destination. As a result, the number of sharks diminished, as some would get caught in the net. Many sailors only needed to drop their nets once, as the fish flow increased, and they would return to shore right away. These sailors would often get in confrontations with Mary, as she would verbalize that each sailor should check what they have in their nets before returning. The sailors disagreed with Mary, saying she is causing unnecessary work. As a result, Mary brought this issue to court. The courts favored Mary’s request to create a law that forced all sailors to check for sharks in their net before coming to shore. The sailor must return everything in the water if a shark’s pulled up. In turn, many sailors lost their licenses, as coast guards would often patrol the waters. The coast guards also had to stop every ship or boat that arrived to shore to check for sharks. As a result of these changes in the community laws, all communication with Mary has become hostile. The moment the coast guards arrived at the shore, they both said, “Mary, we had no choice; it was the shark or us. Would you mind not getting upset? We promise we had no choice.” Mary laughs and says, “Gosh boys, I understand; I just want to see the type of Shark we lost.” As Mary begins to check out the shark, the two coast guards look at each other and whisper, “Wow, she finally didn’t bite our heads off.” Mary instantly replied, “Not yet anyway, my fellow whispers.”

Once she evaluated the shark, she told the coast guards they were at fault because the arrow entered confirms that the shark was far enough, and if they followed protocol, they and the shark would have been safe. On the fence, the two guards say, “protocol?” Mary says, “yes, did you enter the water before or after seeing the victim was missing his limbs?” The coast guard that jumped into the water walks away and says, “I have no time for your games. Today, Mary, we had no choice.” The other coast guard said, “Mary, he is my colleague, and you’re not; if we have a problem, to court we go. So, get your stuff to remove this shark from our boat and go about your day because, as he said, we had no choice.” At that very moment, the news channel arrived and began to question Mary’s feelings towards the overall situation. Mary replied, “Check social media tonight for my overall feelings, I would love to answer your questions, but I must complete my job so the coast guards can return to theirs. I apologize.” The reporter responds by saying, “Polite today, so no one at fault? let’s take some pictures, boys.” Mary replies, “you know what? No, let me remove his shark, and I’d gladly go on live today for you.” The reporter smiles and looks at the cameraman and moving her lips in a ‘we got her’ motion, then says, “get everything ready.”

Once Mary transported the shark into her office, she returned to the reporter. The reporter waiting outside said, “Hi, this is Rachel with your hourly news. I have Mary here today who would like to share her feelings towards today’s attack.” Mary replies, “Thank you. I have been working on a poem I would have shared during shark week but figured now would be a perfect moment to break the ice.’ Mary pulls out her sheet and begins to share her poem

“Hi everyone,

I am Mary, the evil that works the marine,

Who is about to use herself to set a shark’s scene.

I have a bite as big as a great white.

Shred you like a hammerhead; they say, right?

Find me trying to say they are all wrong; it’s not me.

But time to evaluate the inner me.

Wrongdoing to me is like the scent of blood to a shark, aye.

I can’t stay quiet; I fight; the shark in me got something to say.

But everyone knows the triggers,

I guess they are up for testing me.

Nothing new, like a shark; they point out the bad in me.

Ready to be the subject, I am contraband; see

Contraband what?

Yes, I am contraband boo?

Accidently or purposely like a shark, I’m through.

Just another shark lady out for prey

But wait, did you not come at me?

No, true, you came at them aye.

That’s why you on mind mine, for every word I say.

But then again, I am a shark walking the land.

Let me say again wrongdoing is like blood to a shark, my friend.

So, am I wrong? Because they know my triggers, right?

They act up like I won’t get them; we fight.

Wrongdoing to me is you full of blood in the sea,

Let’s hope you jump out before the shark come out of me.

It’s not a threat; it’s news that’s important,

Like a shark to our ecosystem,

I’m also important.

But now, like them, I feel extinct,

Still hear, but some of me go

Why do I have to be the bad one in every show?

They say they feel threatened,

But they’re a more significant threat to me.

Causing problems but only mention my doing, I see.

Yet I bring balance,

Like a shark to the sea.

No wrongdoing to continue because of me.

Like the shark keeping the sea, a whole lot of fishy free,

My goals never to belittle a bad soul,

I’m seeking diversity.

So, my attitude is as crucial as a Shark at sea.

Wonder why you feel threatened when you know what triggers me?

Make your goals in life more than seeking out my bad,

Just like a shark, my bite and shred come after you did some bad.

Just imagine a stranger walking in your home,

Fight or flight you enter,

Anyone, that’s the mode.

So sorry to Mr. or Mrs. Sharky, who is misunderstood,

Let’s switch positions,

You might flight, but a shark will fight, right.

So why call the sharky bad when we entered their home

On a no request, right?

Now I’m not saying it is right,

But humankind is the one making it wrong.

Last I heard, after the shred, they don’t eat,

They leave us alone.

It sounds like someone trying to protect their home.

So, like a shark protecting their home, I want to preserve my society,

But what do you do when I only cause anxiety?”

As Mary turns around to enter her office, she says once more, “What do you do? And now I must return to work. See you all next week for Shark week.” The following week, the annual Shark week Bar-be-que occurred, Mary provided another poem. The mayor then followed. The mayor spoke a lot about the history of Sharks in the Atlantic and their overall importance. He adds, he heard Mary’s poem after the attack and instantly ordered something that everyone will see the moment they exit later. As the party comes to an end, and truck pulls up. The mayor shouts, “the surprise has arrived.” The crowd gathered around the Truck driver and his partner as they emptied the truck. Once the item ordered was removed from the truck, the mayor takes Mary by the hand. He says, “Mary, many people vocalize their dislike for you, but each dislike is associated with everything you do for our community and water creatures. I appreciate you so much, and I hope you appreciate this gesture.” The mayor points at the trucker and his assistant; they two then unwrap the package and reveal a sculpture of Mary with a mic, sitting on a shark back; and on a plaque in front, read

“This sculpture dated for July 31st, 2021, is in honor of Mary blinga. Mary has been the backbone of the Atlantic since 2001. She strives to preserve the life within our waters, and in doing so, she has made enemies along the way. Yet, regardless of the number of enemies made, Mary strives to provide the best service. We thank you, Mary,” and below this written message, her poem she verbalized live on the news was added. Mary instantly cries, and the community comforts her with hugs and congratulates her. The following year, during Shark week, Mary verbalized that she was proud of her community and the sailors for respecting the rules all year and showing appreciation towards her and her work every day and added the large aquarium was now ready for shows as it's now connected to the water and trained to come and go.