SINKING

I am on the bow of an enormous cargo ship in the middle of the ocean. In a huge trench, which is dug into the outer perimeter of the deck, two small adolescent whales are gleefully racing each other round and round the ship. I watch them as they bound and jump playfully over each other completely absorbed in their game. In their enthusiasm the whales leap up out of the trench into the sea causing our boat to tip sideways into the water. Then quietly, instead of righting itself, the boat slips into the sea behind them. I begin to panic as we sink under water fearing I won't be able to breathe, fearing I will drown. My friend motions to me that we will be fine, indicating we have an oxygen tank to share. I lose my fear as she passes me a hit of clean air and I meld into the silences of being underwater. Cutting through the green filtered light above the whales swim by.