Adventures of Tommy Finn

ADVENTURES OF TOMMY FINN

Under The Sea Of Love

For the longest time, Tommy had been feeling strange urges. He had a burning sensation in the pit of his stomach, and his eyes searched longingly up the mighty river that fed freshwater into the bay. He could not understand what was happening to him. Tommy thought to himself, I had better discuss these strange urges with Burgess: he is the older and the wiser one. He will tell me what to do.

Tommy swam along the clear bottom of the ocean on his way to the sandy cove where Burgess liked to hang out, digging for clams in the shallow water. Oh-Oh! Tommy heard the commotion before he ever saw him. It was his old friend Pete, the reef shark. He seemed to get bigger and bigger every time he saw him. At one time he had gotten along well with Pete, but that was when they were much younger. They would play together for hours, antagonizing the older members of the bay community. But lately, Pete had grown a bit moody and had tried to nip Tommy once or twice.

Pete looked hungry today as he made his way darting to and fro, hunting the small fish along the breaking waves. To be on the safe side, Tommy decided to hide in one of Manta’s old stingray holes until Pete moved farther up the beach. “Here’s a good dark deep one,” he whispered to himself. Little did Tommy know his old friend Manta-Ray would be napping in this same hole.

“Whoops!” cried the startled Manta, and with a “swoosh,” he quickly vacated the premises and swam headlong into Pete. Soon Pete and Manta disappeared out of sight, chasing each other down the beach line.

Tommy laughed and laughed, almost forgetting about his problems, but the urges soon returned. Finally feeling secure, Tommy left his place of relative safety and began again on his way to see Burgess. He turned left around the familiar two-mile marker and swam into the bay.

He remembered how sweet the clams tasted, the ones that Burgess had taught him to dig for. He could still hear his friend and mentor saying, now position yourself over the clams’ bed, Tommy. Then flick your tail as quickly as you can. That will remove the sand and uncover the tender young morsels. When the black shiny shells begin protruding from the bottom, shovel the unsuspecting clams up with your mouth. Then, with your powerful jaws and teeth, you can crush the clams’ shells and devour the succulent innards.

There were many others digging for clams at the sandy cove when Tommy arrived. There was Crusty the crab with his friend Penelope, the ringed spotter fish. What a team they made! No one could locate and dig up as many clams as those two. Penelope, being so small and fast, would quickly spot the clams before they disappeared into the sandy bottom. Then all she had to do was signal Crusty and wait for him to dig them up and crush their shells with his powerful claws. “I think it’s just plain lucky they met,” he said.

“Crusty, have you seen Burgess lately?” asked Tommy. His friend, the hard-shelled crab, raised both of his eyes affixed on the end of long antennas over his purplish shell to get a better look at who was talking to him. “Well, as a matter of fact, I have,” Crusty said, “I saw him down by the inlet, earlier-or-later. I cannot remember exactly when. You see, I cannot remember if I was walking forward or backward. It gets a bit confusing being a crab, when I walk backward, I am almost there, but when I walk forward, I have already been there.”

Tommy now completely perplexed turned his attention to Penelope. “Have you seen Burgess, Penelope? I have some questions I need to ask him.”

“What sort of questions?” She asked. “Perhaps I can help.” Her demure sultry feminine voice sounded strangely alluring to Tommy. He had never realized that she was a girl before. He suddenly started to become uncomfortable discussing his urges with her. Nevertheless, Tommy continued, “I have been having some strange urges lately and I thought Burgess, being older and wiser, might help me figure them out.”

Penelope shot back in the water and began to giggle. She quickly swam over to Crusty and whispered in his ear, “Pssssst.” Soon Crusty was laughing hysterically; “you don’t suppose…” he said. “Well yes,” he answered himself. “It must be you’re certainly old enough to, to, to, well you know… procreate.”

Tommy was really mixed up now, “Procreate! What is that? Is it serious? Can I get sick and die from it?”

“You’d better find Burgess,” Penelope sighed. “He is your mentor. He can explain it to you better than we can.”

Tommy reluctantly went on his way looking for Burgess. He was sure that there was a lot more Crusty, and Penelope could have told him about his strange urges. “I bet Burgess won’t be so secretive. He’ll know.” Tommy slowly swam away, leaving Crusty and Penelope whispering and laughing to one another.

Sure, enough he found Burgess, fat and plump, resting under an over-hanging willow tree. “How are the clams today, Burgess? Did you find enough to eat?”

“I certainly did, Tommy,” answered Burgess. “There’s plenty more where those came from. Do you want me to dig some up for you?”

“No, not today, Burgess. I came to ask you some questions about my urges.”

Burgess looked quizzically at Tommy. “Urges, what do you mean urges? You mean like the urge to stake out more real estate or moving to a new locale. Moving-to-Hawaii urges? Could be walking-on-land urges, which of course you are not ever going to do, because you are a fish boy, or had not you noticed. Ha-ha-ha, that’s a joke, boy.”

Burgess noticed the seriousness on Tommy’s face. He decided his friend and protégé were really concerned about something. “Guess you are troubled son. You are not laughing. Now tell me, boy, I’ll give you the straight of it.”

“It’s nothing like that,” Tommy answered. “It’s more like a burning sensation in the pit of my stomach. It’s like a yearning to experience something I’ve never experienced before.”

Burgess thought for a moment; suddenly a sly broad smile appeared on his face, and with a wink, he looked hard at Tommy. He swam close to Tommy’s ear then let out a shout. “Now I know, boy! I know exactly what you mean!” Burgess’s voice oscillated from a shout to a whisper and back again. “It’s the call of the wild! It is like a clock that Mother Nature puts in your belly. You are going along minding your own business, having fun, enjoying life, kicking your heels at the world, and then suddenly out of nowhere, when you least suspect it, here it comes… Bang! It’s time to swim upstream and meet the love of your life. The time has come to procreate.” Tommy’s body quivered and sank to the bottom of the shallow inlet. There is that word again, “procreate”. He was as confused as ever, and he spoke in a weak voice. “What if I don’t know how to procreate?”

Again, Burgess swam close to Tommy’s ear and whispered, he was being careful so as not to be overheard by the school of fish that had gathered. The nosy neighbors had come to investigate the commotion he was creating with his antics “You know what I mean, Tommy; produce new life,” whispered Burgess. “And don’t worry about what to do. Everything will become clear when the time comes. That is the way it works. When we study too much, it gets all jumbled, and we tend to mess it up. Better to leave it in the hands of good old Mother Nature.”

Tommy was finally beginning to understand what the urges were all about, thanks to his old friend Burgess. He wrinkled his nose and asked, “What about you, Burgess, did you ever have the urges to swim upstream?”

“Well now that you ask Tommy, yes I have. I have tried the trip twice before. But living here in this lazy cove and eating all of these fattening clams has made me a poor candidate for the grueling trip up the danger-laden river. There are powerful rapids to swim against, not to mention the waterfalls you have to swim up. There are some places where they go straight up towards the sky. Finally, when the water begins to relax into gentle feeder ponds, the worst and most dangerous part begins. There are giant bears chasing you around trying to catch you and eat you.”

Tommy was aghast. “Me neither!” he exclaimed, “I’ll never try swimming up that river. And nothing could ever make me, urges or not.”

It was getting late. Tommy thanked his friend Burgess and headed back home to the old shipwreck. He had picked a good place to live, Cabin 4, Upper Deck. The old sunken vessel was the only home Tommy had ever known and for as long as he could remember. Burgess, once lived there too, but the trip back and forth to the clam beds had become a hassle for him, so he decided to move closer to his supply of food.

As Tommy approached the slightly ajar window, which was the only entrance to the place, he noticed a shadow moving in the cabin. Cautiously he peered in; he saw a shimmer of silver dart behind the deteriorating bed. “You better come out,” Tommy shouted in a half-hearted voice; he did not know who it might be. It could be a dangerous enemy.

Tommy was ready for any eventuality; he could swim in and protect his home, or quickly flee the better part of valor. Although the voice that had spoken from behind the bed was unfamiliar, it was also unthreatening.

“I’ll come out,” it said. “I just stopped to rest for a moment. I have been on a long journey from the deep sea, on my way to the breeding pools at the headwaters of the mighty river of destiny. “The captivating voice of the traveler put Tommy at ease.

“Well, come on out and let us have a look at you. I will not hurt you if you understand this is my place. And I say who can stay and who can go.” Slowly the intruder moved out from behind the bed into the open room.

Tommy’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he feasted on the graceful lines and beautiful face of the creature treading water before him.

“My name is Natasha, and I am on my way to fulfilling my cycle of creation. I saw this old shipwreck and I did not know anyone lived here. I stopped to feed and rest for my journey. I’ll move on now and bother you no more.”

“It’s nob b-b-bother,” Tommy, already smitten with love at first sight, stuttered. “I am Tommy Finn, the Master of this ship. You go ahead and rest up and when you’re ready, I’ll take you to the clam beds and you can eat till your heart’s content.”

The next day Natasha was ready to start on her journey again. Tommy, taking command, excitedly cried, “This way Natasha, this way.” He led her around the two-mile marker and soon Tommy and Natasha were headed into the bay.

Old Crusty and Penelope waved as the happy couple swam by on their way to the sandy cove and the clam beds. As soon as they arrived at the beds, Tommy quickly flicked his powerful tail over the sandy bottom, revealing the shiny black morsels. Natasha was very impressed, and they ate and ate until their bellies would have surely burst if they had eaten one more clam.

Burgess joined the happy couple later that day. Tommy introduced him to Natasha. They talked about the dangers Natasha would face traveling up the dangerous river, none of which dissuaded her from making the journey.

Later Burgess said his goodbye, and Natasha and Tommy were alone. She gently kissed his cheek and said, “I must go now, thank you for your hospitality.” An eerie feeling came over Tommy. He had finally met someone that made his life worthwhile, someone of his kind that he could play with and share with. Now she was leaving to complete her “cycle of creation,” as she called it, with somebody else. Natasha swam slowly away toward the mouth of the mighty river of destiny.

Tommy watched her as long as he could. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the familiar fin of Pete the reef shark. He was swimming at attack mode straight for Natasha. Tommy clenched his teeth and flicked his powerful tail. He began swimming with all the power and fever he could muster. He was there, just a few more powerful strokes … Bam! He crashed straight into the side of Pete and felt more than one of Pete’s rib cartilages sickening crunch. Pete sank wriggling into the abyss.

“Natasha, are you alright?” Tommy nervously asked.

“Yes!” Natasha answered, “You came just in time. You are my hero.”

Tommy decided that if he were ever going to convince Natasha not to go on such a dangerous journey it was now or never; besides, he had decided he wanted her for himself. “Stay with me, Natasha. We can live together at the shipwreck, and there are always plenty of clams to eat.”

“I wish that I could, Tommy, but I must complete my cycle of creation. That is why I was born, and that is why I exist. To stay here would mean the death of hundreds of my unborn offspring. My young are meant to ensure the continuation of our species. The new hatchlings will need the calm waters, food, and security that the pools offer, high in the headwaters. To be born here would mean certain death for all.”

Suddenly all of the answers about the strange urges were clear in Tommy’s mind. He heard the voice of Mother Nature say, “go, Tommy Finn, go with Natasha, I will be with you.” A new boldness and strength came over Tommy. “Then I will go with you,” he announced. “Together we will make the journey.”

Natasha sighed, “I was hoping you would say that.” Then they gently touched flippers and together turned and headed towards the mouth of the mighty river of destiny. The couple traveled for days, swimming hard against the currents and rapids of the river. They rested in eddies as often as they dared. But the gentle water pockets provided perfect ambush opportunities for the feared bear attacks.

Then the waterfalls came. They had to make a quick start then jump as high as they could; as soon as their fins touched the water again, they had to be swimming fast and furious. They had to make it over the top, or down again they would tumble. It sometimes took many tries, but they finally made it to the shallow pools high in the headwaters.

Their strength was sapped and their bodies were torn, Yet Natasha proceeded to lay eggs and Tommy fertilized every one of them while their silvery skin turned blood-red, and their breathing became labored. They were dying. They could not live in this salt-free environment for long. But the young would thrive until they made their way back into the deep sea, assuring a new generation.

Tommy was tired now, very tired. “I will lie here for a moment,” he told Natasha. “I will rest for our trip back to the sandy cove, where we can visit with our friends and dig for clams.” He lay down and soon was very still.

Natasha swam over to her hero and snuggled close beside him. “We have finished our cycle of creation,” she whispered. Then she closed her weary eyes and soon she too was very still.

Tommy was in a deep sleep when again he heard the voice of Mother Nature. “You must awake now, Tommy Finn. It is time to quickly swim with the currents, swim quickly back to your cove.” Tommy rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked around for Natasha.

“Natasha where are you?” he cried. She was nowhere in sight. He looked and yelled, swam, and jumped, looking for his beloved Natasha. Once he jumped so far, he landed on dry land. A very hungry grizzly bear spotted him Swoosh! The bear made a swipe, grazing Tommy’s side with his giant claw. Tommy wriggled furiously back into the water, escaping just in the nick of time. The bears were in a feeding frenzy.

Tommy searched for Natasha until he fainted from exhaustion. The currents began floating his limp body down the river. Mother Nature, again and for the last time spoke to Tommy.

“You will not find, Natasha, Tommy Finn. She has completed her cycle of creation. By living all her life in the deep sea, as was her destiny, her body could not endure the pressures of the shallow waters or the toll of the salt-free environment of the freshwater. You, on the other hand, will survive to lead other Natasha’s, up the mighty river of destiny, to complete their cycles of creation. Because of your choice to live on the coast, your body has built immunity to these dangers… and this is your destiny.”

When Tommy awoke the currents and rapids had carried him safely back to the cove and to his friends. Soon his scales returned to their silvery color. Tommy Finn’s heart ached for Natasha, but as Mother Nature had promised, “there is always next year.”