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"MONSTER!" the captain screamed, his voice filling the breezy morning air with terror. "Get them sails secure!" He began shouting directions to his crew, who scurried about the deck to comply. I clenched my fists, excitement beating its way through my body with every pounding heartbeat, and I grinned with the thought of running my hands over golden chains, golden cups, and golden swords. Ever since the Hanseong started to encounter sea monsters, I realized that where there are sinking ships, there is sinking treasure as well, and I had been practicing my swimming. It was a good thing too, as this time the captain's orders hadn't been enough. The monster rose from the water, displaying its wickedly sharp teeth, then it wrapped its snakelike body around the ship, the sturdy wooden rails snapping as if they were mere twigs. The carpenter wailed as his careful work was undone, but by the time he had finished a string of profanities the monster had constricted around the boat, snapping the whole ship in two! I jumped free of the boat, and I clung to a section of the railing that floated past me. I slowly drifted toward the closest island, one covered in trees, but that wasn't where I was headed. I slowed my breathing as best I could, repeating a meditation exercise over and over. When at last I felt truly peaceful, I slipped beneath the water, carefully propelling myself down beneath the waves and the scattered debris of the Hanseong. It was suddenly very quiet, a far cry from the groaning of survivors and screaming of seagulls. Soon I reached the bottom, and I began combing through the sandy bottom with my fingers. At first, all I found were shells, but soon I met with a much more familiar sensation: a tiny jeweled ring, and then a bit of wood of much higher quality than boats would be made out of! I brushed the sand off the wood quickly, and I found the top of a fine chest. My breath was running out and my heart was speeding up once more, but I dug through the sand beside the chest. My fingers wrapped around a lock; I yanked it, but it held fast. My mind was racing, and I knew I was running out of air, but I just knew I could make it if I brought the whole chest up.. I had trained so hard for this. I heaved the chest upward, my feet braced against the sandy ocean bottom. After what seemed like forever, it pulled free of the sand, and I shoved off the bottom with all the strength I had. The surface seemed so far above, but I kicked with all my energy, my legs and free arm struggling for just a little bit more power, a little bit more speed. But I was fading fast, and it seemed like all the optimism I had had was left at the sandy bottom, leaving me with only my determination to finish the hunt and not let go of my treasures. But even as my vision grew fuzzy and clouded, I kicked, I pulled, and I would not relinquish the treasure I had trained so hard to even reach! But soon I couldn't see at all, and I kept going on the stubborn belief that sweet air was just beyond my fingertips, just one more long reach away. I came to my senses around sunset, my whole body aching as if it had been battered by anchorites for hours. It took me a while to recall what I had set out to do that morning, and as I opened my eyes I furiously stared out at the sea, my body firmly seated on damp sand. I slowly puzzled out that I had been fortunate enough to drift ashore after not quite making it. Perhaps a god had smiled upon me, I thought, but as I looked around myself, there was no ring, and no chest. Nothing, no smiles here. I slammed my fists down into the sand in frustration, but I immediately regretted it as pain shot up my arms. I screamed and clenched my fists, but they were not filled with the treasures I had dreamed of. All I had was worthless sand, a chest full of disappointment, and a terror of the depths of the ocean that I know I will never outlive. Amaranth | |