Hawaii Story
Geoff Ankeney, MS3; School of International Health at Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel, via Columbia University

Will dived into a perfectly clear Hawiian bay. Just off the plane from the mainland, he was impatient to begin his two free weeks on the island with the world-famous snorkeling he'd heard so much about. He lived about 3 hours from the California coast, and he'd snorkeled on most occasions when he did venture to the beach - but this was "true" experience with the sport.

Will's equipment fit perfectly; he'd tried it all out at a beach near San Diego about a week ago. Unlike at home, he didn't need a wetsuit here, just light booties, fins, shorts, a mask and a snorkel. He'd thought about wearing one of those polyester shirts that surfers wear, but when he entered the soft Hawaaian water it was the exact same 80 degrees as the air - and the idea of insulation was laughable.

It was the impossible clarity of the water that first surprised Will. Back home, if you could see your feet it was considered a clear day - and those days were rare. Here, he felt like he could see for miles. He drifted slowly, enjoying the underwater orchestra of texture and color along the edge of the bay. As he moved further out to sea, Will realized that he was probably in much deeper water than he first realized. The water was so clear that his vision was distorted. To get a better sense of where he was, Will dived to the bottom, watching feather-dusters pull themselves back into their holes and clown fish shoot into dark corners at his passing.

What Will had thought was maybe a few feet turned out to be about 15, maybe 20. Just to dive to the bottom took some time, and some kicking of his fins. He didn't have much time down there before he needed to get back to the surface for air. But the journey was elating, and as soon as he had recovered, he made another dive. Each time, he moved closer and closer to a sea ledge that dropped off into an infinite blue. Considering how far he could see, this trench must extend really REALLY deep. Once, he hovered directly over the trench - with 20+ feet of water on top of him, and what seemed like a million miles of sea below him. He was surrounded by a silent, perfect blueness. He wished he didn't need to breathe - and envied the coral. It sat there all day, watching the endless mural of sea life parade past and could contemplate those endless depths forever.

At that moment, an enormous shadow passed over him. Will looked up to see the silouette of a shark passing between him and the surface. The animal was close - close enough for Will to see it's cat's eye tracking along the sea ledge, and coming to rest on him. In an instant, the shark changed course and headed directly for Will. He without really analyzing it, Will knew the shark would close the distance between the two of them in only a matter of seconds. In desperation, and already in need of a breath of air, Will dove for a narrow crack in the floor of the coral. He wedged himself deep into the sharp rock, forming himself into an uncomfortable S-shape just as the shark made a lunge at him.

Will was facing toward the surface, and watched as the shark circled around to make another pass. The creature seemed to Will to be only a little more solid than the water itself. It moved with a liquid grace that mezmerized him. If he hadn't already been stuck in his crevass, the peaceful movements of the shark would have paralyzed him. Even though is lungs were burning, Will understood that the shark was probably initially drawn to him out of simple curiosity. But Will had cut himself on the sharp coral as he frantically wedged himself into it, and curious onlooker had become fearsome hunter almost instantly.

The animal made another dive for Will. It's snout wedged into the coral and jammed up against Wills stomach. Just the skin of the shark was enough to rub his skin raw. But the shark couldn't get his jaws open to actually finish the kill. Will knew he was within the his last moments of consciousness - bursts of black star-like shapes were appearing in his field of vision. He vaguely had a feeling of pushing himself tighter against the coral walls of his hole. The sweep of the shark's huge tail created an swiriling upsurge of water that threatened to suck him out of the coral. The beast made another turn toward a weakened, bleeding prey that couldn't hold on much longer. The shark slammed into the coral again, but Will's mind was drifting…

"You came back here to tell me there's another guy?" Will had asked incredulously. "Why should I care? If you're leaving - then leave. Don't torture me."

"Well, in the movies the man always wants to know if 'there was someone else'," she said. "And there is. His name is Bill, and maybe it will do you good to know that."

He hadn't been able to suppress a sardonic, bitter chuckle. "You're telling me that Will got dumped for Bill?" he said. "That is SICK. Knowing this is supposed to do me some good? Is it the rhyme that's supposed to help me, or the fact that you're dating a guy with the same proper name…"

"Look, Will. He's exciting. He's funny. He lives an inspired life. He doesn't know if he'll have money in 10 years, or if he'll be a millionaire by then. Maybe he'll have been both.

"It was a touching thing, watching you work so hard to pay for a house and our cars and to get out debt from college these past years. It was sweet because you were so stable, so ALWAYS there.

"But you never surprised me. Not once. We never thought up something new to do together. I don't think we improvised a day in our entire lives.

"I'm sorry, Will. I've finally been swept off my feet." she had said. "I've waited too long for you to quit living by a recipe. I tried to stay loyal. But I just couldn't. I really am sorry."

In the dark recesses of his oxygen-starved mind, a voice said "is getting eaten by a damn shark exciting enough?"

It was a nauseating headache that ultimately brought him back to reality, the sun overbright in his eyes. Everything was distorted, and what little he could see of the horizon was undulating crazily.

"He's gonna throw." said a voice.

Strong hands rolled Will over and hung his head over the side of a boat. He could see through the water to a coral reef below, and remembered where he'd been. He didn't throw up.

Will rolled back over. "I must have blacked out. What happened."

A burly man in surf trunks and deep brown skin said "I'm David. I was diving for sea urchins right around the corner when that shark went for you."

Will looked at the faces of 2 other men on the boat. Both were strong and fit, with dark skin and brilliant Hawaiian smiles.

"You almost didn't make it, brah." said one of the other men. "It's good to see you coming around. We thought you were a goner."

"The shark?" said Will weakly.

"Yeah, they can be a problem, especially tigers like that one." said David. "When I saw him coming in, I headed up to my boat as quick as I could. My friends here hauled me in. As I was coming up, I saw him stop to go for you - which was lucky for me!"

Everyone laughed. Will tried to join in on the joke at his expense.

"We came over to see if you were alright. The shark was getting pretty worked up - you musta been bleeding. Usually, they're pretty cool and won't mess with people too much, but it doesn't take a lot to get them worked up. You got a couple scratches on you, but you ain't bleeding anymore.

"Anyway, we smacked the water with paddles, and then put the motor on high - the shark split. They don't like the noise. These guys jumped in with spear guns while I went down and pulled you up. Man, you was like a rag doll! You were so OUT! You're tough to make it that long down there. A Hawaiian couldn't do much better."

Will thanked them for helping him out, and asked if sharks were common in the bay.

"Not really," said David. "I make a living diving for urchins and spear fishing around here. You just have to be ready to split for the boat if one comes around. I probably see like 2 a year. But I only seen one that big maybe 3 or 4 times. He musta been 14 feet, maybe more."

Will drank some beer they offered him. His sides hurt and his piercing headache seemed to be a punishment from his brain as a reminder to keep the O2 going from now on. The cuts on his back were stinging and he hoped they wouldn't get infected.

"How long are you on the island?" said one of David's friends.

"This is the 1st day of a 2 week vacation." Will replied.

"Well, you had one hell of a 1st day, bro." said David to the laughs of the others. "What will you do tomorrow?"

Will leaned gingerly back in his seat, took a long drink of his beer and said with a soft smile,

"Probably go snorkeling."

You could hear their laughter from the shore.

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