White Stag
Location: Ahe Atoll
The waves pulse as I descend on the dive site. Water lapping against my mask as my head rushes beneath the surface, counting in my head how many divers I can see. I start with 6 glowing souls, ocean lovers, advocates for the sea. 5 students and I. The leader. I hope I end with all 6.
Today(yesterday) we dive in the Ahe Atoll. A remote and lightly touched atoll in the South Pacific. It has only a few residents among its coral shores, a few beautiful people living amongst a ring that was once a fiery ledge. They laugh and smile, the only way we can seem to communicate; their language and culture are just as mesmerizing as the ocean below.
The deep blue consumes us. A feeling of weightlessness lightens me. I am home again. I breathe softly with mechanical gills enveloping myself in the sights of our ancient ancestors. Colors swish as fish swim in and out of our view. Red, yellow, green, purple, white, and black. Even blue inside blue. I watch as the eyes of my students light up. -Fish they have never seen before. Corals that spark their curiosity. And creatures that make them gawk in awe.- We are all witnessing a beautiful moment in time, a tale of 2 worlds colliding in beauty.
As I search around, the corals capture my gaze. I’ve always loved corals. Animals and plants that live in harmony with each other. Colors are amazingly fluorescent even at depth. We see plate coral, boulder, branching, and even corals with twists and turns like a maze. Amongst them are small fish and large fish, small sea spiders and algae. I am convinced… the ocean must be the 8th wonder of the world.
As we glide, I search for an Octopus, a shark, a nudibranch. But there, ahead of me. Something beautiful.
A white stag in a forest of blue.
The coral is small yet shines bright enough to light up the deep. With small, branching, twisting antlers, it stands tall and proud.
Except for one thing, this coral isn’t meant to be white. It hits me harder than I could have expected. Coral bleaching has reached the Ahe Atoll.
All 6 of us emerge from the dive, but my soul is shattered, parts of it left behind to keep the dying beautiful white stag company as the future of humanity descends upon one of the most remote places in the world.