Unexpected Luck

It's a regular Friday afternoon on the water for the guys and me.

We're helping conduct a census of marine species on our local reef for the small Marine Hospital, Sea Corp. that we volunteer for.

We come to help on our days off from our everyday jobs. Be it cleaning up around the place, diving on the reef to observe local flora & fauna, or helping with new/current patients.

If we're fortunate enough, we sometimes get to help release patients when they're fully recovered!

Unfortunately, the hospital goes off donations alone, so there are minimal funds, most of which go towards the animals we help or bills. The main reason we have the equipment we do is using our own money.

Not saying that's a bad thing, but it does make things challenging to stay operational.

Since very few people outside of the community know about the hospital, they are under threat of being closed down!

It's somewhere around 2 pm, and we're about 3/4 of the way through the census for this month, and the species diversity is looking healthy throughout the reef. We decide to take a break for lunch and to resupply our air before finishing.

When the three of us reach the boat, our two-person watch team helps us out of the water and removes our dive gear before we all head below deck. Mark, my brother, Dave, a friend from our days in college, and I all grab a bite to eat. Meanwhile, Mia, the hospital founder, and Jacob, the head of safety/the main tech guy, pull up all the data we've collected, as well as what we got so far today.

We all sit around the computer and go over the graphed data for species diversity of organisms in the reef.

"Just looking at the data you've collected so far, compared to last year around this time, it appears there are a few different species that have shown up. Ones that typically show up later in the year!" Mia commented, sounding a tad surprised at the revelation.

I take a moment to think about why these species might be here early. "Hmmm, maybe something's changed; what about the water temperature? Has it risen at all?" Knowing that most times, animals with any migratory route come at specific times for specific reasons.

Mia thinks for a moment, "Hmm, I don't know. Let's check the ocean temperature data from the last decade around this time and see if it's any difference."

She pulls up a line graph with temperatures up the side & years across the bottom.

After examining it for a moment, Mia speaks up. "It looks... like the temperature has been steadily increasing. Let's zoom in a bit to see the months."

She zooms in on the graph so we can see the data from each month.

"Hmm, yes. For this time of year, the water temperature is several degrees warmer than it used to be. An unfortunate revelation, but at least that explains why some of these animals are here early." I comment as I look over the graphs.

"Ya, their food usually shows up later in the year, but with warmer water, they've come early. Sadly, we can't do much about it on our own; we'll have to keep monitoring that to make sure this doesn't affect this reef's health too bad." My brother states.

The rest of us nod in agreement.

Then Mia speaks up, "Speaking of the reef; we still have a census to complete! Mark, Jarod, Dave; let's get you suited up and ready to dive."

"Sounds good, come on guys, let's go!" Dave stands up and heads above deck. Mark and I follow him, with Jacob right behind us.

Mark, Dave and I got our wetsuits on; Jacob refills our air tanks, then helped put them on. While we run through our pre-dive checks, Mia brings up our waterproof tablets to record what species we see down there.

"Ok, guys, we're at the middle of the reef. Once you finish here, all you have left is the North." She told us, handing us our tablets before heading back the wheel.

"Aye aye, Captain!" the three of us say in unison while saluting.

Jacob chuckles at our antics, then heads below deck to grab the radio so he can communicate with us while we're diving.

We finish our dive checks, put our masks on, then sit on the boat's edge and fall back into the water.

"Topside, do you copy? Over". Mark speaks into his com.

"This is topside; how's it looking down there, boys? Over," Jacob replies.

"Well, it's a little murky right now; roughly 7 ft of visibility, but otherwise, it's pretty good for diving. Over," Dave answers.

"Keep your heads on a swivel if conditions get worse. As you know, sharks will take advantage of murky conditions, and we don't need any of you with a bite mark from a curious shark. Over,"

"Will do topside; we'll radio if something comes up. Over and out," I confirm.

The three of us start our descent to the reef.

Time Skip...

It didn't take us long to finish the reef's middle; only a few species around that weren't already from previous areas. We immediately moved to the North end of the reef. This area was known for stingrays, so we are cautious when swimming near the bottom.

I see a couple of green sea turtles grassing on seagrass in the coral reef's outer regions, just past where the coral grew, so I add them to the list.

I am about to turn and head off to find Mark and Dave, something shiny catches my eye from among the blades of green.

I decide to get a better look.

I swim out into the flats where the grass was growing and start searching for what caught my attention. It took a few minutes, but I manage to find a plastic zip-up bag with a small black notebook, a flip phone and a picture of a man looking to be in his late 20's.

I pick it up and examine the bag a little closer. There's a name on the back of the picture, but I can't read it. I decided to radio the others and tell them what I found.

"Hey, guys, this is Jarod. I found something in the seagrass on the edge of the reef; I think you should come to check it out. Over," I say over the coms.

"copy that, Jarod; we're heading your way now. Over," Dave replies.

"Hold up, guys, what about the census? Jarod, can you bring what you found to the surface? Over," Mia cuts in.

"Sure thing Mia, but don't open it till we're all there. Over,"

"Understood, Jarod, bring it to the boat, then head back down to help the others. Over,"

"Actually, we're almost done down here, and our air is running low. We'll meet you up there in 10 bro. Over," Mark interjects.

"Sounds good, brother. I'll see you in a bit. Over,"

With that, I make my slow accent to the surface with the bag in tow.

Time Skip...

"Hey, Jarod!" Jacob greets, holding out his hand to help me off the ladder.

"Hey, Jacob, here's what I found," I say, handing him the bag with the notebook, phone, and photo.

Jacob takes the bag from me and examines its contents. "Huh, this is kinda weird." he comments, "I'll go put it down below, then I'll come to help you get your gear off."

"Sounds good man, I'll hang up here while you're gone."

"Well, I'm not sure what else you're gonna do." he chuckles as he walks below deck.

I sit down and take off my mask & flippers before looking up. The sun is still high in the sky, but it's slowly starting to sink as the afternoon drags on. My mind drifts to the bag, 'I wonder who's in that picture, and what's in the book?' I wonder to myself.

Suddenly, bubbles start rising to the surface to my left, then my brother and friend breach the surface of the water.

"Hey, good to see you guys. How'd the rest of the census go?" I ask as they swim over to the boat.

"Not bad, a few more species, but not much else. Where's Jacob?" Dave asks.

"He went below deck to drop off the bag I found; should be back in a second."

As I say this, said person, along with Mia, comes back on deck.

"Oh good, you two are back. Just in time for unbagging what Jarod found." Mia state happily.

"I'll help you guys out of your gear then we can all go see what's in that bag," Jacob says as he starts helping me remove the tanks from my back.

We quickly remove our dive gear & wet suits and putting them away; all of us eager to reveal the mysterious objects.

After, we all gather around the table where the bag is lying. I pick up the bag & open it, gently reaching in & removing the book, the phone and the photograph, placing each item on the table.

Mia picks up the book and slowly opens the cover, proceeding to read aloud what is written.

Mia picks up the book and slowly opens the cover, proceeding to read aloud what is written.

"'To whomever is reading this, my name is Charles Edward Novak. This book was thrown into the ocean in 1980 by yours truly. The photograph is of me, just before I threw it in the water. As a reward for finding this journal, I request that you use the phone in the bag to call the number located at the book's back. It will connect you to myself or a family member. When the phone is answered, recite the message: Chucky Novis sails the sea till his final breath.: whoever will you an address to go to. I thank you for finding this and hope you are worthy of this reward' Holy sea cows!" Mia looks at me, "what in the 5 oceans did you just find Jarod?!!"

"I don't know, but the only way to find out is to call that number!"

"So, who wants to do it?" Mark asks, looking around the group.

"I think Mia should do it; she's the head of the hospital, after all. She deserves it. Whatever it is." Dave reasons.

"But Jarod found it; he should get the reward." Mia counters.

"Why not put it on speakerphone, then explain what happened. Then, whatever the thing is, we split it evenly." Mark suggests.

"I agree!" I say and pick up the phone. "Ok, what's the number?"

Mia turns to the back and reads the number. I type it in and press call, then speakerphone. It rings for a moment, then a gentleman picks up, "Hello?"

"Chucky Novis sails the seas till his final breath." Mia recipes from the book.

The line is silent for a moment, "... Oh my goodness, I thought I would never get this phone call." he says softly,

I speak up, "excuse me, but is this Charles Edward Novak?"

"Oh! There are more than one of you! Yes, this is Charles. And who might all I be speaking to?"

We all introduce ourselves.

"Well, I'm Jarod"

"Mia"

"The name's Dave."

"Markus, but I go by Mark."

"Jacob"

"It's wonderful to talk with you all! I suppose you would like to know what the reward is now?" he chuckles.

"If you wouldn't mind?"

"Well, children, what is it that you all do that had you out in the ocean where you found the book?"

"We all work/volunteer for a marine hospital, for now. Our bills have gotten behind, so we may end up losing it." Mia explains sadly.

"I don't think a worthier bunch of people could have found this book then. By a fluke chance, you have just stumbled onto $20,000!"