I sat in the car of my mom’s sea foam colored Toyota Sienna, clutching my Dunkin’ Donuts ice coffee tightly in my hand. It was just my mom and I, for my dad was still at work and my sister was at her best friend’s birthday party. I was thankful that Mom and I were going alone, and I sipped the coffee anxiously as we bumped along the road.
We paused for a moment at the light, then turned and went over the bridge. On the opposite side was the pavilion over looking the beach. I suddenly sat up straighter. Excitement that was almost unnatural swarmed over me, and I stared ahead until I could just barely see the waves of the ocean.
My heart immediately felt content. The ocean. I had lived near it ever since I could remember, and I had always loved it. In it, I became everything I wanted and needed. The sensation was almost passionate, alluring. I felt tears prickle at the corners of my eyes at the thought of loosing it--No, came the strong, steady thought to my mind. Don’t think that way. Just enjoy it for now.
The car slowed down and immediately I jumped out. I took with me my coffee and cellphone. Usually I dove into the water upon reaching the beach, but today I was still in my school uniform and not in my bathing suit, and I would be murdered if I tried a move like that.
We approached the water slowly, but as soon as we did, it rushed up to meet me. I grinned down at it and found myself again pushing foreboding thoughts from my mind.
It was silent except for the wave’s words, so I began to speak. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” my mom agreed quietly. She understood why I had wanted to come. She was the one who had told me, after all.
We walked along the beach for a while, listening to the ocean’s chattering and the laughter of little children rushing into the waves. I watched them with a certain heaviness in my heart. They were so blissfully unaware of the dangers that lurked not too far away. My body ached at the thought.
Mom walked a bit away from me on dry sand, but I stayed where the ocean would tickle my feet. I wanted to get as much of it as possible. I never wanted to leave it.
Finally Mom called it was time to head back. We must’ve been walking for at least thirty minutes, but it felt no more than three. As we turned and headed back, Mom suddenly stopped me. A strange look had come in her eyes.
“I want to pray over the ocean, right here, right now.”
I nodded slowly, and whispered, “I do too.”
Mom joined me by the ocean and rose her hands as she began to pray. “Dear Lord, please protect our beaches which we have ruined. Please save the ocean, so that no oil will come and destroy the waters here. Put your hand over the waters, and direct the oil away from this place. Please save it.”
I joined in, though I wasn’t sure if she was done. “Please, Lord,” I prayed, my voice cracking. “Please save our oceans. If it is your will, Lord, please--I love it so much. We love it so much.”
And in spite of myself, I began to cry, standing there with my mother. Mom prayed a few more words to close up the prayer, but I couldn’t remember what they were. We stood there for a moment after we were done, just staring at the ocean.
“What if the ocean dies?” Mom murmured ever so quietly.
But I heard it. “No.” The tears were steady now. “It won’t die. It’s been alive this long, it can’t.” Whether I was convincing myself or my mother, I wasn’t sure.
“You’re right.” But it sounded as if she didn’t mean it, as if she only said it to comfort me.
We continued to walk along the beach. Mom tagged far behind on dry land and let me walk alone with the water. I stared at it, doing nothing more but cry. There wasn’t one wave that didn’t touch my feet. As I looked over it, I imagined life without the ocean. My heart ached terribly and I cried harder.
Finally we parted. I turned for a moment to take a picture with my cell phone. It was then that I saw a small shell, sitting right there, in the sand, and I grabbed it. I had a feeling as if I was meant to have it.
“This isn’t goodbye!” I called out to the water as I walked away. I didn’t care if I looked stupid. “You won’t die.”
In the car ride home, I realized what exactly would happen if the ocean died.
“We’re going to run out of water,” I whispered.
“What?” Mom seemed shocked.
“Mom, where do we get our main source of water?” Before she could answer, I finished it. “Rain. And where do you think the clouds get the water? The ocean.” The tears that had been slowly dying down started up again. My voice refused to stay strong as I croaked out, “God’s ending the world with oil.”
“God’s not ending the world,” Mom said softly. “Man is.”
It suddenly made sense, and the tears were so much more violent than at the ocean. “This it. This is the end. If we run out of water, what will we do?” I let myself sob for the ocean, sob for the world.
“We’ll die.”
It was a very depressing car ride. There was not a moment that I let myself stop crying. It was like knowing your best friend would die, and not being able to do a thing about it.
Over and over again Mom reminded me that man got us in this mess. We needed God’s help to get us out.
We had to stop the oil leaks, but that was beyond my control. I thought around for anything else that would help. We had polluted the world so much--could we save it now?
I realized that the only way to get the public to learn about this was to use my God-given gifts. I had to write about it. I had to make everyone aware of what was happening. I was reminded of the children blissfully playing in the water, and I wanted to make sure that no one else took the last few days of the ocean for advantage.
And now, through the tears of a swimmer, I bring you this true story. This is what happened on Friday, May 21st, after school. This is not fiction, this is not fantasy. This is real. Our beach is dying. Will you help save it?
