Swimming to a Shark

The author inadvertently swims TO a shark. He also mis-judges some very nice kids. Hint- never swim alone. 

Transcript

                    Swimming to a shark 
  




                             "They spell it Vinci and pronounce it Vinchy:         foreigners always spell better than they           pronounce."      -Mark Twain-     The blue, Samoan sky appeared fluffy and light.The scorching yellow orb overhead caused Peace CorpsVolunteer Paul Karrer to scratch his sweaty head.     "I Should have worn a hat."     He kept on walking.     "I've got to get into the water soon or I'mfried," thought the fair skinned twenty-seven year-old.He picked up his pace. His feet trudged on almostknowing the way to Palolo Deep by themselves.  PaloloDeep was one of Samoa's many secrets.  It was anunderwater nation park.  And Paul knew the best timeto go there was on Sunday because 99% of the Samoansattended church.      The transition to accepting the norms of Samoahad been ingrained in training, but they still causedstrains at times.  Never show the bottoms of yourfeet, stoop in front of a chieftain, never walk duringholy hour, and the toughest one - never be alone.Samoans couldn't believe that anyone wanted to bealone. It was a sign of something really wrong with aperson.  But that was exactly what Peace Corps Paulwanted ...TO BE ALONE!        He swore to himself in Samoan when he spottedthe two seven or eight year-olds at he waters' edge.      "OH, God here we go again," he thought.      "Foreigner, foreigner!" the kids yelled withjoyous delight.      "GO halu," he said in Samoan slang and knewit was a mistake as soon as he had said it.       They ran over and deluged him with the typicalquestions.      "Where is your wife?"     "I don't have one."     "What is your father's name?"     A fair enough question for a Samoan because itdefined all that they were, but it didn't reallymatter if you were from Connecticut.     "Monkey Butt."     "They laughed but were a little put off and itset them up for what they really wanted to ask.     "Give us the money."     "I don't have any."     "Liar! You are a rich Peace Corps."     "GO Halu he snarled.      He pushed past them and sat ankle-deep in thewarm water.  He adjusted his flippers and spat insidehis face mask to make sure it didn't fog up.      The kids gave him one parting shot, "Malie,malie" (funny in Samoan.)      "Yeah right, I'm real funny," Paul thought as heheaded out to the depths.  Upwellings of water shot upnear him on both sides.      "Those little turds are throwing rocks at me."      "Malie, Malie, Malie" they yelled in unison.      He swam beyond the coral ledge and out of thekid's range. He glanced back at them from a safedistance.  They were jumping up and down on the beach.       "Turds!"       Paul sucked in a full breath and shot downuntil his head hurt.  The white sand bottomed out atabout sixty feet. He wasn't anywhere near that. Currents of heated water circulated around him anddispersed. Without moving, he let the air in his lungspull himself upward.  He spun a little and decided notto fight whatever position he ended up in.  He closedhis eyes, "Alone at last.  Wonder if I'll see THEM outhere again?"       THEM were Polynesian gar. A kind of miniaturetwo-foot long marlin. Only the last time he had seenthem they were in a writhing mass of at last fivethousand. Together they had formed a weighty franticmating darkish ball. Paul had nearly gotten within anarms' length of them.       Paul hit the surface and sucked in anotherbreath.  He swam out a little farther than usual whichhe knew was dumb.       "Im breaking all the rules. I shouldn't reallybe out this far alone."       He dove down again, "Well, I'll be darned. inthe distance about three feet below the surface of thewater he saw a darkish mass.  The gar!"       He kicked toward them.  "Man, this place isunbelievable. Wait 'til I tell the guys I spotted themagain."      The dark mass cleared at fifteen feet becomingone object. Paul nearly choked on his mouth piece. Noquiver mass of gar mated in front of him.  He focusedon the large vertical row of gill slits.      "Tiger shark! Don't panic, don't panic, don'tpanic!"      Paul shot back in the direction he had come frommuch like a squid.  As soon as he could no longer seethe shark he completely turned around.     "I'd rather get bit in the ass then the head!"     He kicked and stroked for all he was worth.     "Get me to the coral. Get to the coral. Coral,coral, coral."     He never though he'd make it.     "A shark, A SHARK"     He kept on swimming. It seemed forever.      "Keep going, go go go go! Coral, I just want tosee coral!"     Paul gouged and scraped his knees as he scrambledover the coral ledge. Fear made him slip more than heusual.  He plopped down in the ozzy carpet of mucuscoated coral.      "To heck with this. I'm hitting the beach."     He dragged himself to the beach, closed his eyesand shivered in the sun.     "Dear lord, A shark, a SHARK!"     Something blocked the sunlight.  Paul opened hiseyes to see the two kids.     "Va'ai ile malie?" they asked.     Paul was ready to explode at the kids when it hithim. Malie? Malie didn't only mean funny did it? Maliemeant shark.     The two kids squatted near him and patted hisbloodied legs and knees.  They touched him withconcern.     "The rocks they had thrown hadn't been meanspirted. They had tried to warn me!" he thought.     His stomach churned. Peace Corps Paul took offhis flippers, and mask and gave them to the kids.He wouldn't need them any more.     "A present for your families," he smiled.     The kids couldn't believe it and they left fullof giggles.  He lay on the beach for a long time. After that he hard a hard time going in water deeper than two feet.