The Price of Appeasement

Despite having a wonderful time with Vito I cannot stop fretting about my visit to Triton. I have no idea what to give him.
The morning of the dive dawns and I am particularly troubled.
“What’s up Che?” Vito asks.
“I have nothing to offer Triton,” I say, “I can’t think of a single thing that would be appropriate.”
Vito’s easy grin slides across his face and he shakes his head,
“You worry too much. You’ll think of something.”
I smack my head in frustration,
“I haven’t even paid you for the crossing!” I cry. This time Vito laughs out loud,
“You paid me several times, in full, the night you came stumbling up the dock looking for a boat.”
“I did?”
“You paid for more than a week of crossings. How else do you think you’ve been getting food and board here?” he asks laughing again.
“Oh, I see,” I am flummoxed, “I guess I thought, I thought maybe you…”
Vito roars with laughter,
“You thought I was wooing you?”  He continues to laugh and begins to wipe tears from his eyes. I am feeling more and more uncomfortable and beginning to get a little angry.
“I’m sorry Che,” Vito chuckles, “I’m very flattered, but if you wanted holiday romance you should have picked the boat of my brother, Santo, it is always moored right next to the Queen’s Fancy. If you had fallen over his mooring lines Santo would have carried you aboard and taken advantage of your inebriated state. I doubt you would have seen the outside of the cabin for days.”
Vito starts to spin the yacht’s wheel,
“I can take you to him right now if you want.”
I laugh,
“Don’t you dare!”
Vito reaches in to a pouch on his hip,
“Seeing as this is your last morning aboard I owe you some change,” he hands me three  gold coins. I am stunned,
“How much did I give you Vito?”
“You paid me eight Lemurian Guineas and wouldn’t listen to me when I tried to return it. So I decided to give you your money’s worth. I usually charge a guinea a day. That covers everything. You’ve had five days on board. You have three Guineas change. Now we’re square!” he smiles again.
“Vito, you are a perfect captain and a true gentleman. Your Great Grandfather would be very proud of you.”
“I like to uphold my family name,” Vito says, “Unlike my scoundrel heartbreaker brother Santo. I can still take you to meet him if you like!”
He chuckles to himself,
“So, Che, have you decided on your gift to Triton?”
I tumble the coins in my palm, listening to their heavy metallic chunking.
“Yes I have,” I say,” Can I borrow some beeswax?”
In my cabin I search my pack for a small roll of handmade paper that I have planned on using as a journal. I take a sheet and begin to write;

Thankyou Triton
For your gift of the sea.
Thankyou Triton
For sending me guardians, guides and companions
Who are strong, wise, honest and true.
Thankyou Triton
For teaching me I can be these things too.

I roll up the sheet of paper and seal it inside the beeswax. I wrap the wax pellet, with the 3 gold coins inside my favourite silk scarf; hand painted in turquoise with golden dragonflies.
Within an hour my bags are packed and I am on deck, suited up, ready to dive.
“Ready to rock and roll?” Vito asks winking at me.
“Gung-ho!” I reply. I have butterflies in my stomach despite the preparations of the previous days.
“I’ll be right here,’ Vito says seriously, “I’m not going on to Mudjimba without you.”
“Thanks,” I try to smile, “I’ll see you soon.”
I dive into the water and easily find the entrance to the deep reef. It is a hole, maybe about three metres wide, ringed with a colourful crown of coral. I push my way down, taking in the amazing and varied marine life. My offering is safely stowed in a pouch around my neck. I start to relax and enjoy the breathtakingly colourful surroundings.
Out of the corner of my eye I see something swimming beside me. I turn and see a large grey eel with red eyes. In a moment it is joined by two more identical grey eels. They seem oddly out of place amongst this rainbow world. The eels appear to be following me, swimming closer and closer, forcing me against the coral wall of the dive hole.
In unison, and without warning, they lunge at me, maws open, displaying viciously long and sharp teeth. They aim for my mask. Instinctively I raise my arm to protect my face.
A searing pain burns through my upper arm as their teeth tear through the suit and deep into my flesh. Again and again they attack. I keep my left arm up over my face and try to push them away with my free hand.
 The eels are relentless, determined to reach my mask. I cannot scare them off, the hole is too deep to attract Vito’s attention and I am loathe to swim back to the surface without fulfilling my journey. The dive hole is still not very wide. I bend my legs, push my feet flat against the wall and propel myself, as hard as I can to the other side of the hole. The coral cuts into my arm and side but the eels disperse. I swim deeper, blood pouring from my wounds. The eels return; again I shield my face and smash them into the wall as they bite and gouge my arm in a frenzy to reach my mask. They attack again and again; I lose track of how many times I have to torpedo from one side of the hole to the other. I can feel water filling my suit through the many tears and rips caused by the razor sharp coral. Eventually I realize the eels have gone. I don’t know if I have killed them or just scared them off. Blood is pouring from my left arm and side and I am on fire with pain. 
I manage to swim down to the floor of the hole. It is covered with blood red coral. I cannot tell if the coral is red naturally or if I am tainting everything with my blood. With my  good arm I prize my gift free from the pouch. I place it on the bed of coral. As I do a branch of red coral gently falls infront of my fingers. I stow it safly in the pouch, my fingers fumbling to close it.
I am dizzy with pain and fatigue. I cannot read the dials of my air tank but I know I used a lot of air during the fight. The brightly coloured coral is becoming blurred and indistinct. There seems to be nothing but blood. I cannot remember which way is up. I am incredibly tired. I just want to stop and sleep. I can see nothing. I feel the water around me. It is pushing me. It is pulling me. Lifting me away from the pain like many strong, comforting arms. All is darkness and red.

Chefleur

14.1.08

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