Endless waves of time

by Madhura Nagle (India)

A leap into the unknown Maldives

We all stumbled. The winds howled. The crystal blue waters of the Indian Ocean slowly turned darker under the stormy sky above. As the rain started pouring, and the boat swayed with the wild waves, I saw fear peeking through my granny’s eyes. Granny and I share the same love for the ocean. We can stay on the shore, the whole day looking at the dancing waves. That must have been the reason my 65 years old granny agreed to sit through fifteen hours of travelling to the majestic islands of Maldives. The resort had arranged the first snorkelling tour to see the sea angels-manta rays-of the year. “What will I do?” not being able to swim, she asked. “You could stay at the resort?” dad suggested. “Can I, maybe stay on the boat?” “Of course!” the diver piped in. “Will you be okay?” mom asked. “As long as I don't drown.” “Great, then!” I cheered. And so, we ended up on the boat with a few other people, all in our swimsuits ready to see the threatened manta rays. The blue water sparkled around us at the start. Very gentle breeze gushed. I stared into the depths. The ocean is endless, timeless. It has always been there and yet, we cannot realise the depth. The crashing of waves reminds me that I can just dive into the unknown. The boat that was moving swiftly till a moment before, suddenly started swinging. The waves pushed us back and the sky turned gloomy. “What's happening?" I asked. A diver pointed at a distance. The darkness approached us. “It’s the rain,” someone said. “We need to stop till it passes, we are in deep waters.” So, we did. My granny stared at the dark clouds from behind her spectacles. “Is it a storm?” she asked me. “Just some rain, they say. It will pass." She somehow nodded. But no, it was not just some rain. The waves became wilder and the winds zapped. The water started hitting our backs like stones. The divers quickly pulled the shades to protect us from the attack of the rain and fierce waves. “Hold the railings!” The boat took a very sharp turn against the wind and we all screamed. Granny held onto me for her life. The splashes of water hit us harshly. It was impossible to see anything around. The water which was calm till now, had taken a furious form. The salty smell surrounded us. It lasted at least for twenty minutes. Then it slowly subsided. The clouds moved on revealing the sun behind them and the water lost the darkness returning to its turquoise color. We were all dripping wet, already. My grandmother’s hand shivered in mine. We quickly wrapped a towel around her. The boat steadied and the shades were off. The wind lightly whistled again, like a minute before it wasn’t roaring into our ears on the rhythm of growling waves. “Are you okay?” I asked her. She nodded, keeping her eyes closed. She was not okay. Maybe we should have let her stay at the resort. She would have sat on the deck, looking at the ocean as it changed colors. This was a bad idea, maybe. She waited on the boat as we jumped into the water with fins. We swam looking for mantas. “There!” someone shouted. When they finally came into sight, I was mesmerised. Two of them, glided swiftly through the water below us. I held my breath, looking at their velvety skin like the dark night sky. They swirled around each other. Water making them appear so close. When we were back in the resort, granny slept off the afternoon. In the evening, the two of us sat on the beach, watching the sand slip past our fingers with the melody of foaming waves. “Maybe, you should have stayed,” I whispered. She smiled, taking another fistful of the sand. “Maybe. But then when would have I seen the ugly side?” her eyes not leaving the slipping sand. “Are you scared of the ocean now?" "Only makes me love it more,” she said as the setting sun set the water ablaze before us.