The Wonders of the Deep by Claudia Foster
What do you think about when ‘wonders of the deep’ comes to your mind? Tropical fish and sea plants? Underwater caves? Whales and sharks?
I have never seen those in my life. All I’ve seen is the bottom of my local swimming pool. Boring, right? But if you open your mind the bottom of a swimming pool can be just as interesting as the bottom of an ocean.
First of all, pay attention to what you see. You see people’s legs. Some long, some short and chubby like a toddler’s. Some hairy, some wizened. Some are thrashing and some are still.
You also see slightly sinister, smiling yellow and green toys lined up in neat little rows. And children diving in to grab them. One of them, a cross looking girl, gives me a funny look.
I see a boy of about four jump into the pool. He looks at me, grins and blows a raspberry before strong arms reach into the water and pluck him out.
I swim across the tiled floor and then turn round and stare at the shimmering light as water floods my nose. Foam boards soar over my head like manta rays with bubbles on the bottom, blocking the light for a moment.
I’ll make do with these ‘wonders of the deep’ for now.