By Daniel Ramalho
The baby girl’s hand rested over the cupped palm of her mother’s. She had always found sleep easily in the trawler, even on rough seas.
Her dad’s grip on the helm was unswerving. He too found a kind of peace there. Away from the guilt that awaited him ashore.
Now entombed in water, he was cleansed. Pristine as the coral protruding from the cracked hull.
Boarding the sunken trawler, a blacktip reef shark swam into the shattered cabin and plucked the bloated baby from her mother’s outstretched arms.
A searchlight blinked through the waves. Pausing, it glinted on the predator’s skin.
Very vivid and disturbing images. Not so much a story as a well done prose painting. Nice job!
Powerful story!
Good transition at “Now entombed in water… ”
Great ending!
Striking imagery and a powerful reveal! Kudos, Daniel!
Great story. Such a tender opening sentence; it drew me in right away. Then, “the bloated baby.” To get so many themes into 101 words is indeed an impressive accomplishment.
Fine piece of writing.
Thank you Bobby, Clive, M. C. Neuda, Joanna and John, for taking the time to share your thoughts on this little tragedy. The horror of bringing destruction upon our loved ones as a consequence of an attempt to flee from a guilty conscience resonates with us all, I think. Perhaps that’s why it’s so cathartic to read (and write) about it. It’s like looking at an ominous shark fin looming in the horizon – from a safe distance.
In return to your comments, here’s a factoid you mind find interesting in hindsight: Blacktip reef sharks belong to a family of species commonly known as “requiem sharks”.