The Sea that Glowed

 “How much further?” I asked, panting from the effort of rowing the kayak.

“Just a little bit further!” he replied. And even though he didn’t yell back, it seemed he did. In the silence of the night, with the only audible sound being that of the waves as they pulsed, any little noise we made seemed louder than it should be. Water splashing as the kayak traversed it, my noisy breaths and the calmness with which he hummed a song added to the overall atmosphere of serenity.

“Are we there yet?” I asked, barely five minutes later, like the impatient kid I was.

“A little bit further,” he repeated.

I heard the click of the compass lid as he closed it.

“Hold on, let me check the time.”

I waited, oars suspended above the water as the kayak gently bobbed on the water.

“Yup! We will be there!” He declared and then added as I groaned, “You don’t have to row.”

“Yes!” I yelled happily, earning myself a chuckle.

But if we were to get somewhere, shouldn’t at least one of us row?

“Aren’t we going further?”

“Nope”, and I could feel the grin in his voice. “We are here. Just wait.”

And so, keeping my mouth shut for once, I waited and watched. Of course, the lamp we had with us barely illuminated anything. So I didn’t understand how I was to watch something. But just as I was about to point it out, something happened. Slowly, a light began to appear. Not around us, but underneath!

It continued to grow, coming closer and closer to the surface until I could identify what it was.

“Jellyfish!” I declare, barely able to contain my excitement. And in the process of pointing it out to him, rocking the kayak. Thankfully, I regained my reason before we could be capsized. Although, there was a just a fraction of a second where that seemed certain. Of course, him yelling at me to do so helped.

The jellyfish, however, spooked by the disturbance, went deeper.

“Don’t worry”, he said, understanding my disappointment, “It will return soon.”

I nodded, wondering if it would return. With nothing else to do, I kept tapping my toes against the kayak, creating the softest sounds. And when that proved to be too much flexing for my poor feet, I dipped my fingers in the sea, creating little swirls unbothered by the wrinkles forming on my fingers. And while my antics kept me occupied, he sat still, the humming being the only sign that he was there.

About ten minutes later, when my patience was reaching its limit, the jellyfish returned. And with it came several others until a significant part of the sea around us was glowing and shimmering in their light.

“Wow!” I gasped, taking in the sight before me.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“It’s amazing!” I replied, unable to take my eyes off it.

“There! Look ahead,” he said, tapping on my shoulder.

“Where?” I looked around until he said Straight ahead.

There, across the horizon, spread a silver reflection shimmering as the sea pulsed. Barely above it was the crescent moon as if just like us it too was gliding on the water.

I had never seen anything so serene. The jellyfishes moved towards the horizon. Little by little, their light diminished. And while the jellyfishes swam deeper, the moon rose higher.

“Did you like it?” he asked again as we climbed out of the kayak at the shore.

I nodded. “Still dazed.”

“It must have taken a lot of effort to arrange this”, I noted as the man who rented us the kayak walked away dragging it behind him.

He shrugged.

“It was worth the effort”, he replied, extending his hand towards me. “Come on, we still have time for ice cream.”

I put the Cheshire cat to shame then as I took his hand with one last parting glance to the sea that still shimmered and sparkled.