It was a beautiful morning! The
sky was a crystal blue as if a turquoise cloche covered the earth. The waters
were serene except for an isolated wave every now and then. The best part of
the sea for scuba diving they said. John slowly ambled his way to the edge of
the boat, weighed in by the heavy scuba equipment. He had paid top dollar to
get the best scuba dive organiser on the cape for this dive. He was accompanied
by a guide from the dive organisers, a stocky fellow who looked like he did
scuba diving from the moment he stepped out of high school, with a perpetual
frown creasing his face. They eased themselves off the stern of the boat into
the azure waters of the cape.
A half hour into the dive, John
felt his muscles cramp a little, fruit of all the gallivanting and extra beer the
previous night. He signalled to the guide that they need to head back. John was
gauging the distance back to the boat when he felt a presence in the water next
to him and that presence was definitely not the forever frowning guide; unless
the guide knew how to swim at more than a forty kilometres per hour. Being a
marine biologist, two words crossed his mind. Carcharodon Carcharias, or by the
name that normal mortals know it by, the great white shark! The boat was a good twenty metres away and
John felt his muscles burn. It was not the beer or his lack of exercise this
time, it was pure panic. John also realised that he was in the presence of one
of the most dangerous creatures on the planet!
He swivelled around to spot the
guide a few feet away, who was now gesturing for him to swim to the safety of
the boat. So he aimed for the boat and swam with all the energy he could
muster. The twenty meters started feeling like twenty miles and John wondered
whether he was going to meet his death today. His knowledge of sharks didn’t
help the situation. He knew that the great white didn’t have any natural
predators and had gained the epithet of the Great White Death for good reason. It
was responsible for the highest number of unprovoked attacks on humans. One of
the most dangerous creatures on the planet!
When he got to a few metres of
the boat, he decided to check on the guide. To his dismay John realised that
the guide was no longer behind him! What was behind him though was a large
murky shape the size of a minivan, a minivan that was approaching fast. The
snout of a great white is very uncharacteristic of its reputation. It looks
like the killer fish is approaching you with a bright wide smile with all its
shiny teeth, to give you a hug. That is, until the teeth part and it bites your
head off. The most dangerous creature on the planet! So John watched the shark rush
towards him and along with it his imminent death. He was not a man of God, but
at that moment he let out a cry for help to the Almighty. Then he shut his eyes
and waited for his demise.
That was when he heard the sound,
like the sound of metal hitting rubber. John slowly opened his eyes and
realised that the azure clear waters around him were crimson red now. The great
white which was going to make a meal of him was now drifting away from him,
oozing blood with a harpoon pierced right through its head. He also felt a hand
on his shoulder, the hand of the guide who had shot the shark dead. John felt
an immense sense of relief and gratitude to the stocky guide with the perpetual
frown. John also realised he was in the presence of the most dangerous creature
on the planet!
