Finley: Part 1

Beneath the dark blue far widened seas of the Atlantic deep down, was a lone pale Hammerhead Shark named Finley. He was named that as he was rather lonely and never feeling like he fitted in with other sharks, especially since he was a Hammerhead and mainly that he had a broken fin after escaping near death of a fight from a Tiger Shark. Because of the near fatal incident, Finley was a misfit to the other Shark species (including his own), but he was rather friendly with the Sea Turtles passing by the near currents of Mexico.

One day as the sun shined above lighting and brightening the blue oceans in almost sky blue, Finley was swimming along low above the Seafloor and only about a dozen yards away from a bright, shining, rainbow colour-like Coral Reef. Although food was not on his mind as he was not hungry hunting for fish, he was scanning the greenness of seaweed to search for algae to treat his broken fin that was medicine for Sharks. He swam slowly as the Shark had brilliant eyesight scanning side to side with his widened-out head. Instantaneously, all the fish at the Coral Reef filled and swam around neighbourly of Blue Tangs, Lemon Damsels, Moon Wrasse, Spiney Chromis, Sea Goldies, Clown Fish, Giant Groupers and many other fishes were hiding either behind or below the glowing floras and faunas in the Reef as they already sensed the Hammerheads presence nearby thinking they were hunted. Finley wasn’t surprised though or even cared about the Reef of fish, as his mind was fully set on the algae of seaweed to treat his broken fin. It would not fully heal his fin, but it would take the pain away in a matter of time as it ached him every time Finley swam and stroked with his fins.

Eventually he found a bunch that appeared in tree trunk size, wafting and waving lightly in the blueness as long as Jellyfish tentacles. Firmly sealed sea oysters that looked like fossil rocks also scattered around visibly with more of them partially camouflaged behind the thick dark green seaweed with hints of algae and viridian floras, he swam down hovering slightly as his belly was inches from the Seafloor and stroked his broken fin on the seaweed massaging it lightly so that it will cover his fin in a lot of algae, but he placed that much on the Hammerheads fin, it turned from pale blue to dark green as though it looked contagious, but at least it would make his fin heal slowly. After finishing placing the algae on his fin so gently, Finley swam away and streamed back to his cave to rest and all the fishes hiding in the colorful Coral Reef would come out to swim around harmoniously again without any disturbance from sharks.

Darkness fell, the sea turned quiet and the moon shining like a bulb in grey above, the water filling the gills of the Hammerhead resting quietly in his cave in the middle of nowhere below the deep ocean. Finley would not find any sleep tonight or let him take over, as the broken fin stilled covered in the stains of algae was still aching minorly but bitterly. The hammerhead had never felt this down, frustrated and in pain before, not to mention the fact he was all alone without any assistance of aid or to have a single friend of the whole ocean (shark or fish) to support him to get through this agonizing nightmare of hurt he was going through with his fin, in all helpless moments and dire comfort Finley felt like giving up on all hope for himself. All he could do was try his best to ignore the pain on his fin and try to find sleep if he could, but it all seemed impossible for him.

All of a sudden, he heard a sound nearby, the sound of slender popping and quick slimy movements that sounded quite like tentacles bobbling round. Finley felt curious of the sound, but the sense of danger crossed his Hammerhead mind into thinking it could be something big and lethal that could lure him into a trap, or it could be something small and harmless only for it to swim away swiftly from him to be scared off by a shark. Finley then decided to have a wonder out of his cave and see what all the commotion was of the rather odd sound occurring nearby. He swam cautiously and on guard passing by the roughened ocean rocks abutting round his cave close by until he swam out to the empty deserted Seafloors without a flora or any seaweed in sight, he looked around to see nothing far beyond the dark ocean waters but the sand of the ocean bed with a somewhat lumped single rock laying on the ground. Finley examined the sandy lumpy rock for a brief moment without approaching it and then scanning around the sea making sure his surroundings weren’t to be pounced on.

The Hammerhead looked around again passing his eyesight over the rock like moving it to one side, suddenly the rock moved and shaked rapidly side to side as though it was about to burst open to break apart forcing Finley’s eyes to dash straight back on to the rock thinking he was about to be launched upon and sending shivers across his scales in fear, thinking that this would be his last moment to fight for his life all alone again since the Tiger Shark attack. Only to realize that the rock sandy moving rock turned to a small crimson scaly Octopus hiding behind the camouflage of the Seabed sand and bursting out its tentacles freely and widening out like a crab crawling around. The Red Octopus had two bizarre looking wide eyes, eight pointy sticky tentacles, it was the size of five lobsters joint together and a large bubbled sized head like an inflatable balloon.

“Sorry to disturb Hammerhead” the Red Octopus said in greeting with a raspy voice, as though he sounded very old and seemed particularly wise.

“My names Jornio, you wouldn’t happen to know where I can find some algae nearby from a bunch of seaweed do you, before it is used all up for the season?”.

Finley, confused to begin with what a strange and lone Octopus would want with algae from seaweed for, as he also realised the Hammerhead still had some algae concealed on his broken fin that he still needed on to heal his fin, but he answered vigilantly.

“I found little of it nearby at the Coral Reef” said Finley, “There wasn’t much left though, most of it was all dried up”.

Jornio scratched the side of his chubby wobbly head with a tentacle that bared many dorsal's the size of pebbles.

“Ah, must have been from all the fish from the Reef tending to other ill species there” the Octopus said. “I’ve also noticed you have some nourished on one of your fins”

Jornio said curiously, pointing out a tentacle to Finley’s broken fin. Upon hearing this, the Hammerhead swam an inch backwards slightly hiding his fin to the side still covered with the dark greenish algae as though Jornio might trap and wrestle him in his eight tentacles and snatch it of him or spray its ink on the Hammerhead to blind him and sneak off with the algae from his broken fin, but the Red Octopus stood its ground in assurance and serenity.

“No that’s fine, you are using it to heal your fin presumably” said Jornio dispassionately, “But you must trust my judgement Hammerhead, it may not fully heal in a matter of time and there’s a possible chance you may never be able to swim again, the algae is mainly used for fish medicine more than it is for Sharks”.

Finley puzzled and suspicious of this, “How do you know that?” he asked questioningly.

The Red Octopus placed four of its tentacles together like it interlocking them to speak in affirm and being openly honest, “Well you may find this hard to believe Hammerhead, but I have healed many different fish species and even large Orcas and Blue Whales in my time as I hold strange yet extraordinary abilities to heal with my tentacles whenever they glow so bright with a Pearl from the Oysters”.

Jornio began wafting the other four tentacles round to show Finley how affectionate they are whilst the moon shines bright above, “From these, I am able swallow a Pearl and then cast it out with my ink from my siphon to where the injuries occur on a fish scale of an injury.

“I then massage lightly with my tentacles so that way the ink fluids of the Pearl stream inside the scales to treat scars and broken fins until they disappear in matter of seconds and then fully cured afterwards. Trust me it can and will be done”

Finley, minorly speechless yet bewildered without much effect by the Octopus’ revealment of claim of healing abilities, but still felt as though he could not trust Jornio or give up the algae on his broken fin as the Hammerhead Shark then asked for some clarification.

“Prove it!?” he asked easily.

“Very well, erh, just a moment” Jornio said with his voice sounding perplexed with some hesitation.

The Red Octopus bobbed its head, spinning around with the help of his tentacles side to side, and darting his weird tennis ball eyes round to look for something close by to prove to the Hammerhead Shark that he could heal a wondering fish anywhere nearby in the middle of nowhere at night.

But there was only the Hammerhead Shark, the Octopus some boulder sea rocks and sand on the ocean floor in their surroundings. Jornio was on the verge of giving up after sighing to find nothing around to prove to Finley still wanting to know if the Red Octopus still had any some sort of magical curing abilities from his tentacles and ink. Until Jornio spotted and noticed a bunch of lifeless colourless sea roots pointing out sharply like an evil frozen hand of a large beast buried beneath the Ocean Bed. The Octopus approached the dead roots examining them for a brief moment whilst Finley swam slowly drawing near but not too close to see what the Octopus was even doing with a bunch of dead roots entrenched and secluded deep and wide below the ocean deserts. After examining the lifeless roots, Jornio placed his wobbly sticky tentacles over the thick, roughened, sticky roots coiling them round for a steady soothed grip without trying to snap apart and then the Octopus shut his eyes. Finley watched on without much amusement or even doubting he’d be surprised by any theatrics or changes the Octopus would do to a bunch of relinquished rotten roots.

Until the Hammerhead Sharks eyes widened and his spiney, daggered, white teeth emerged from his widened jaws in shocked state of surprise in such perplexity. As Jornio continued to wrap its tentacles round the roots and his eyes closed, a minor burst of dark ink disburse from his funnel surrounding the roots like black smoke wafting around of a small hurricane consuming the roots though seen visibly. Strangely the roots glowed in a bright amber colour as dazzles of greenness, chunks of orange began to emerge from the roots now being filled with patches of flora now growing out rapidly bursting into life. Jornio then released his sticky tentacles from the frisky roots carefully now filled with life under the sea. Jornio’s eyes widened and facing Finley.

“Is that your proof now?” the Octopus said with a nimble smile.

“How did you do that?” Finley asked in such astonishment and confusion, he was so stunned by this he thought the Red Octopus was some sort of a powerful, mystical, underwater creature with enhanced powers to change dead objects into life, he didn’t even have or use a Pearl from an oyster found anywhere nearby to grant the roots with green weed and orange flora.

Before the Red Octopus could answer Finley’s first question, the Hammerhead then asked, “Are you a godly creature of a Kraken?” .

"Well of course not" Jornio laughed, "I don't know how I ever claimed this sort of magic with my tentacles in the first place..."

"Could you do that with my fin?" Finley interrupted with his voice filled with much desperation and a thought of hope.

"Please, I've been struggling to swim for sometime and I don't think I can go on much longer if my fin isn't fully mended".

The Hammerhead Shark looked upon the Red Octopus like a lonely desperate puppy dog in dire need of assistance and for the sake of the aid of his broken fin to be fixed to swim naturally again without having to limper swim again.

"A broken fin can only be healed with a melted fluid of a Pearl from an oyster" Jornio assured, "All it takes is to find a clam of an oyster laying around somewhere across this sea, place it into my mouth until it melts, then it will stream along my tentacles out of the dorsal's and with the ink out of the funnel, to be stroked onto your fin. Although I have travelled such a long way and it has been a long while since I last found any oysters with a single Pearl inside".

A thought of possibilities crossed the Hammerheads mind for a few seconds, "I think I know where to find some oysters" said Finley with certainty until another thought came into question.

"Maybe not too far by the Coral Reef some distance away, but why do you need the algae?". Jornio answered without hesitation or as a thought returning to him, "Well it's for treatment for the Starfish" he said. "So that they can regenerate there arms in longer life times, I only have a tiny hint left but I will need more for the Starfishes sake too".

This seemed fairly enough for Finley to trust the Octopus and be persuaded to find an oyster containing a Pearl inside in exchange for his fin to be mended along with the algae nourished on. But he couldn't help but ask one other question before he could venture of to find an oyster beyond the reaches of the deep, wide blue sea.

"Why do you do this though?" he asked curiously, "Helping the fauna and floras of the sea and aiding other fish species including my kind?". The Red Octopus sighed and relaxed six of his tentacles down placing two interlocking together to be completely honest with the Hammerhead.

"Because I believe it is the right thing to do when have mysterious abilities of the unknown to mend and cure others for, especially when you are wise enough to use something given to you to use for the greater good without being selfish or prejudiced, if you understand?".

"Makes sense I suppose" Finley comprehended, "Well in that case I will go and look for an oyster with a Pearl inside, presumably somewhere round the Coral Reef with all the yards of seaweed and then I shall bring it back to you in exchange for the rest of the algae on my fin".

Finley turned his hammer-sized head from the Red Octopus to the sight he was about to swim sharply to drift of to, before breathing the ocean air from his gills, as he floated upwards straightening and wobbling his fins and tail side to side preparing to swim to the direction to where the all oysters and algae the Hammerhead searched by earlier today.

"How far away is the Reef?" Jornio ascertained as the Octopus pressed all his tentacles down standing straight to meet the Hammerheads level, "Should I accompany you encase there are other Sharks or Barracudas out there?".

Finley shrugged off the alarming concern from Jornio with a snigger, doubting that there would be any nearby dangers of those two kinds of predators (or worse) as he never saw or come across them around or close by the Coral Reef. "Not far" said Finley now in a hurry of hope, "Just over about as wide as a shore but I will be fine" the Hammerhead assured now turning to the direction he would drift to for the Coral Reef.

Jornio however insisted not to travel alone and with a broken fin, "But don't you think..."

"I'll be fine, just wait here and I shall find an oyster with a Pearl inside" Finley boosted and swam away submerging fast and far until he could no longer be seen in the night of the wide blue ocean sea, leaving Jorino quite baffled and bemused now left alone completely.

Darting his head and scanning around as though he was at the wrong place, the Octopus sighed almost lost for words for a moment and dumbfounded, "Well, guess I'll just have to keep up in my own time and then do all the mending to pick up the pieces again" said Jornio cynically, as the Octopus began to crawl along and follow the trail to the direction where Finley jolted of taking his time without the chance to exhaust himself.

To Be Continued.