They were all lining up getting the diving gear. The oxygen bottles were tested briefly, nobody seemed to be bothered that this testing was obviously bullocks. Sirens heart did it's drum and bass routine, a clear sign that she felt unnerved. This was going to be her first dive in a real sea, in an actual ocean actually. She was partnered with an young, goofy looking character that didn't necessarily arouse any more confidence.
"Have you dived before?" she asked him, trying to breathe an air of casual interest.
"Yes, once. But never as deep though, and never in an ocean like this."
Did she just detect a flicker of fear in his eyes? Oh lord, have mercy. This wasn't getting any better.
They were a big group of at least twenty, all glimmering in their black wetsuits, on the deck of a big boat. Everybody got ready to get in the water. Their boat was not the only one. In their close proximity there were two huge containerships, slowly making their way to their destination.
"Isn't it dangerous to dive so close to boats like these?" Siren asked Goofy, no longer trying to hide her concern.
"Yeah, it's just key to stay away from the engines. Like at least two hundred meters. The shitty thing is that it's hard to tell distances under water. I guess we best just stay on the flanks and try and avoid being in front or behind. Other than that, it's pretty cool. There is not much wildlife left in these waters so seeing these ships from underneath the water is kind of as exciting as it gets. We are lucky."
Siren, biting her nails, didn't share his excitement. She uttered a big sigh and went back to checking her straps and meters, until she got distracted again. Colourful shapes were floating all over the surface of the water, stretching from their boat to the containership. It was difficult to see what they were. Birds? Seals? She walked over to the edge of the deck to get a closer look.
"Oh my God. It's plastic!!" It looked like the contents of an entire landfill had been dumped in the water. Green and red plastic shopping bags bobbing on the waves, accompanied by rubber tyres, all kind of boxes big and small, and more bits and pieces of unknown origin.
"How can we dive in this mess?"
"Oh... " Goofy seemed to be lost for words for a moment. But he recomposed quickly and replied: "I guess we try to stay out of it. It's probably an interesting sight, all this plastic floating on and under the water."
It felt like a rock was pressing Sirens heart. This diving experience was turning out to be a mistake. But now that she made it this far, she knew there was no turning back. She was going to get into the water. No matter how afraid and disgusted she was.
They were the last pair to get in, so by the time they got ready to tumble into the waves, the first pair of divers already got out again. One of the two was a girl Siren used to be in high school with, a pretty close friend actually back when. But the friendship cooled off the day the girl betrayed Siren one way or the other. Girls in high school, whaddayaknow. Either way, this girl was now standing in front of her, dripping, and smiling, and obviously excited about her dive.
"It's really special down there, I have never seen anything like it. And I dive a lot, and I've been around. To see these containerships is one thing. It's cool and interesting but boring in a way you know? They are everywhere and it's not that special anymore after five or six times."
Ok, Siren thought, she's still pretty full of herself. The girl, in all her excitement, didn't notice Sirens cool glare and just babbled on.
"The plastic trash is amazing!! Deeper down it is not as dense and you can swim through it. It is pretty awesome to start recognising stuff, and it's been transformed by the ocean. Enjoy your dive!" And off she went.
Goofy was getting impatient to go so after one last inspection of the gear they finally went in. It was a sunny day so the light filtered through the water beautifully. The mass of plastic in front of them was waving and throbbing, like it was alive. A huge sea monster, born out of consumerism. It was so big that it blocked the light and caused a thick darkness to one side of it. Siren and Goofy signalled eachother to stay on the sunny half and slowly dove deeper along the monster. The deeper they went, the less dense the trash became, just like her old classmate had told them. It did become darker here, and the moving rubbish created cilinders of shadow shooting into the darker depths. The pair carefully made their way into the minefield of plastic remains. Not as explosive maybe but just as awful. The little life there was left was eating this, got trapped in this, choked on this. But strangely enough it was beautiful. Hundreds of nylon bags, slowly, weightlessly moving about, somehow reminded her of jelly fish. Siren ventured through the shadows, in awe for this dead but still lively and colourful landscape. Looking up, seeing the vastness of the manmade underwater island, she promised herself two things: one: I will never accept plastic bags ever again. two: I will dive again, in a clean ocean, full of real life.
This is one of the dreams I had last night. I added the ending. Hope you enjoyed it. Comments and possible interpretations welcome.
"Have you dived before?" she asked him, trying to breathe an air of casual interest.
"Yes, once. But never as deep though, and never in an ocean like this."
Did she just detect a flicker of fear in his eyes? Oh lord, have mercy. This wasn't getting any better.
They were a big group of at least twenty, all glimmering in their black wetsuits, on the deck of a big boat. Everybody got ready to get in the water. Their boat was not the only one. In their close proximity there were two huge containerships, slowly making their way to their destination.
"Isn't it dangerous to dive so close to boats like these?" Siren asked Goofy, no longer trying to hide her concern.
"Yeah, it's just key to stay away from the engines. Like at least two hundred meters. The shitty thing is that it's hard to tell distances under water. I guess we best just stay on the flanks and try and avoid being in front or behind. Other than that, it's pretty cool. There is not much wildlife left in these waters so seeing these ships from underneath the water is kind of as exciting as it gets. We are lucky."
Siren, biting her nails, didn't share his excitement. She uttered a big sigh and went back to checking her straps and meters, until she got distracted again. Colourful shapes were floating all over the surface of the water, stretching from their boat to the containership. It was difficult to see what they were. Birds? Seals? She walked over to the edge of the deck to get a closer look.
"Oh my God. It's plastic!!" It looked like the contents of an entire landfill had been dumped in the water. Green and red plastic shopping bags bobbing on the waves, accompanied by rubber tyres, all kind of boxes big and small, and more bits and pieces of unknown origin.
"How can we dive in this mess?"
"Oh... " Goofy seemed to be lost for words for a moment. But he recomposed quickly and replied: "I guess we try to stay out of it. It's probably an interesting sight, all this plastic floating on and under the water."
It felt like a rock was pressing Sirens heart. This diving experience was turning out to be a mistake. But now that she made it this far, she knew there was no turning back. She was going to get into the water. No matter how afraid and disgusted she was.
They were the last pair to get in, so by the time they got ready to tumble into the waves, the first pair of divers already got out again. One of the two was a girl Siren used to be in high school with, a pretty close friend actually back when. But the friendship cooled off the day the girl betrayed Siren one way or the other. Girls in high school, whaddayaknow. Either way, this girl was now standing in front of her, dripping, and smiling, and obviously excited about her dive.
"It's really special down there, I have never seen anything like it. And I dive a lot, and I've been around. To see these containerships is one thing. It's cool and interesting but boring in a way you know? They are everywhere and it's not that special anymore after five or six times."
Ok, Siren thought, she's still pretty full of herself. The girl, in all her excitement, didn't notice Sirens cool glare and just babbled on.
"The plastic trash is amazing!! Deeper down it is not as dense and you can swim through it. It is pretty awesome to start recognising stuff, and it's been transformed by the ocean. Enjoy your dive!" And off she went.
Goofy was getting impatient to go so after one last inspection of the gear they finally went in. It was a sunny day so the light filtered through the water beautifully. The mass of plastic in front of them was waving and throbbing, like it was alive. A huge sea monster, born out of consumerism. It was so big that it blocked the light and caused a thick darkness to one side of it. Siren and Goofy signalled eachother to stay on the sunny half and slowly dove deeper along the monster. The deeper they went, the less dense the trash became, just like her old classmate had told them. It did become darker here, and the moving rubbish created cilinders of shadow shooting into the darker depths. The pair carefully made their way into the minefield of plastic remains. Not as explosive maybe but just as awful. The little life there was left was eating this, got trapped in this, choked on this. But strangely enough it was beautiful. Hundreds of nylon bags, slowly, weightlessly moving about, somehow reminded her of jelly fish. Siren ventured through the shadows, in awe for this dead but still lively and colourful landscape. Looking up, seeing the vastness of the manmade underwater island, she promised herself two things: one: I will never accept plastic bags ever again. two: I will dive again, in a clean ocean, full of real life.
This is one of the dreams I had last night. I added the ending. Hope you enjoyed it. Comments and possible interpretations welcome.
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