I'm a very long way from home, aren't I, Todo?
This was probably one of the best trips I had ever taken so far. And I had only been here a day! I already had a chance to visit the Hobbiton movie set, which was amazing. Even just the atmosphere here. And the accents … I absolutely loved it. I currently had to put my sight-seeing on hold, though. This trip wasn't just for fun. I had a job to do. Or, rather, I hoped to get one. I was sitting on a bench near the pier. I was told to wait here for someone who was picking me up by boat to take me to their personal island. You don't hear that in the city. They own an island. But, as I said, I was looking for a job. I was actually on my way to a job interview. For scuba diving. I was interviewing at L&L Diving Service.
I never thought I'd be trying to work as a diving tour guide, but a lot changes when your husband dies unexpectedly. Drunk drivers are the literal worst. I was happily married, we were looking at buying a house, we both had good enough jobs where we had even considered starting a family … And then the accident happened. All those dreams shattered in an instant. That was a couple years ago. I was definitely not someone who would've done anything even remotely risky. But now? My perspective has shifted slightly. There were so many things we had planned on doing "when the time was right." And I was shown, very rudely, life is happening right now. And it can end at any time. So, I took the life insurance money and decided to do things that made me happy. Not that I was just throwing money around and I wasn't trying to get myself killed. I just … didn't want to miss out on life because I was waiting for the perfect moment. Now, I go out and find those moments.
So, here I am, waiting for a complete stranger to come pick me up and take me to some strange island. Safety at its finest. My mother would be so proud. I had done some research on the business first and I knew what the guy looked like. I'm not that stupid. I didn't have to wait very long. After about ten minutes, a boat pulled up to the dock and the man began tying the boat off. I recognized him, so I waved and began heading toward him.
"Hey. Amanda, right?" he asked as I approached. I could definitely hear the French accent. I had figured given his last name, but we had been communicating through email and video chat until this point. Video chat never does anyone justice. My previous boss had a French accent, and I had liked working for him. Maybe this was a good sign. He was built pretty solid, like he had been in the army at some point. Or maybe the ocean just does that to people. He looked to be 50ish, give or take a few years, with gray hair and a gray beard.
"That's me. Need a hand?"
"Actually, I figured we'd just head back out if you're ready to go. If we stay much longer, it's going to get really crowded and then it's impossible to move anywhere." Oh my god, is there rush hour at a pier? I never thought of that. How many people own islands?!
"That works." He held out his hand to help me into the boat.
"By the way, nice to meet you in person." he said with a smile as I stepped in. He held out his hand to help me keep my balance.
"Nice to meet you, too. And thanks for the opportunity. I know I'm not exactly the standard candidate, but I'm really excited for a change of pace."
"Yeah, I know that feeling," he said with a sigh. The way he said that … Something tells me he's had a rough life experience, too. I didn't want to pry at the moment. Maybe don't bring up bad memories at the interview …
"Have you had many applicants so far?" I was curious to see how popular a job like this was. I had basically no idea what the market looked like.
"I've had a few, but they were … expecting the job to be more … adventurous."
"... Are the waters around here known to carry 'adventure'?" I asked, now a little concerned. What have I gotten into?
"No. In my younger days, I had my fair share of adventures. They expected me to be the same person I was years ago. But this old man? It's been a long time since I made a name for myself as a marine adventurer. I'm just an old man abandoned by the sea."
Ouch. That sounded like there was some story to go with that. Should I ask about it? Does he want to talk about it? Or does he just want to focus on the job? He doesn't seem to be the chatty type. I also wouldn't consider him that old. Focus, Mand! Alright, just … relax. And be yourself. Because if it turns out he doesn't like that, then you probably don't want to be here anyways. I tend to get nervous around new people, and then try to be overly friendly by talking, usually too much. Makes job interviews a ball. But I wanted a change, a big one. Hence why I'm in a new country looking at jobs way outside my field of expertise. Which didn't help my nerves. Maybe just be quiet for the ride there. It's windy, anyways.
I decided to just sit and enjoy the ride. I loved boats. My family owned a small one for riding around on the lake near my house. The ocean was a bit different, but the waves were bigger. That was the best part!
We didn't really talk during the ride there. He did look at me a couple times, which I immediately began to panic. I mean, how often do you wear shorts and a tank top to a job interview? At least, I assume he's judging me. I have got to stop doing that. It's fine. He's probably just curious about the stranger on his boat. At least he didn't seem upset. After a few minutes, he asked, "I thought since you don't have a lot of related job experience to talk about, it may be better to start with a dive and see your skills."
"That works." No pressure. Not like I need to prove myself to an expert or anything. "Are you going to be diving with me?"
"No. I dove too deep one too many times, and I suffered badly from decompression sickness - the bends, we call it. It left me with a serious medical condition. I can never dive again."
Oof. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"That was a long time ago. You'll be diving with the other diver who works here, so you can see how well you get along, too."
"Sounds great." We stayed quiet for a few more minutes. Then we arrived near some little islands that formed a ring. Wait, there's a term for that …
Jean-Eric stopped the boat and began getting the anchor ready. "This is Gatama Atoll. It's a few-minute drive away from the island and it's the main place we take tourists. Water's pretty calm here and it doesn't get too deep, so it's safe. And there are many different kinds of fish, which makes the customers happy."
"Makes sense. It's a nice area, too." It looked like a postcard. Absolutely beautiful. I could get used to this. Imagine getting to see this every day for work …
I was looking around the area, daydreaming about swimming here all the time, when I noticed a jet ski in the distance.
"Do other people come here often?" I asked.
Jean-Eric looked up quickly. "Oh, that's the other diver I mentioned. My granddaughter, Oceana. Right now, she's the only diver at L&L Diving Service."
Right. That makes a lot more sense.
The other diver pulled up next to the boat and climbed in.
"Hey! What's up?" She smiled. She looked younger, midteens maybe? She had brown hair pulled into a side ponytail. She was a bit shorter than me, maybe around five feet or so. "You must be the new job applicant. I'm Oceana." We shook hands. "I may not look it, but I'm a seasoned pro with years of diving experience."
"That's really cool. I always thought it'd be cool to get into diving, but I had to wait until I could afford my own lessons."
"I practically grew up in the ocean. With my family, I didn't really have a choice," she said with a laugh. She seemed a lot easier to talk to, which put me at ease. I'm a little less likely to make a fool of myself if someone else can help the conversation along.
"I don't know if Grandpa told you, but you're going to dive with me so I can show you around the area. It's a beautiful place with lots of fish. I'm sure you'll love it."
"We're also here to see how well you move around underwater," Jean-Eric said, looking pointedly at Oceana.
"Right, I know." She nodded at her grandfather and then turned back to me. "Whenever you're ready we'll start the dive."
"Alright, let's do this!"
One final check on the gear, and then we were in the water.
Oceana was right. This is awesome! There are so many fish!
Basically everywhere I looked there were more fish swimming around. I swam around slowly, just taking everything in. I was also trying to find little landmarks so that I hopefully wouldn't get lost. I get lost way too easily; if you spin me around in a circle three times - with my eyes open - I'll get lost. Anyways, we made our way out of the little inlet we were in, ending up in a much more open area. I was surprised at the variety of wildlife in the area: Dolphins, stingrays, and so many schools of fish … I would have to dive here way more often if I wanted to see all of the fish that lived here.
We had been exploring the area at a leisurely place when I saw what looked like a very small whale in the distance. That can't be a whale … can it? Unless it's a baby, but this seems an odd place for it to be. And where's its mother? I waved to Oceana to get her attention and pointed at the whale. She looked surprised to see it, too, so we both cautiously swam over to investigate. We made sure to give the whale calf enough room so it didn't get spooked.
Seriously, where is its mom? Whale calves usually stay very close to their mothers, so the fact that this one seemed alone suggested there was something wrong. Oceana was looking around, too, probably thinking along the same lines as me. She gestured further south and began to swim in that direction. I followed close behind.
This area was much deeper and had a lot more open space. Only the occasional rock pillar dotted the sandy floor. A whale would be more likely to fit here, although it'd still be pretty tight. Maybe they come here to give birth? That would explain why they're here. Unusual for them to be so far apart, though. We began swimming around the area, and it wasn't long before we found a much larger humpback whale. Okay, that should be the mom. Now how to get them to see each other...? I looked to Oceana, gestured toward the two whales and shrugged. She didn't seem to know what to do either. I decided to swim back and see if I could gently guide the calf to swim toward its mother.
I was originally planning on acting as a sort of sheep dog, assuming that the whale calf would be afraid of me. However, as I floated nearby to try and herd it back to its mom, the calf slowly swam toward me. It seemed curious. I held out my hand and it brushed up against me. I wouldn't have expected this, but I guess it doesn't see me as a threat. Maybe it will follow me? I started swimming toward mom, hoping it would follow me. It started swimming very close to me, periodically bumping into me, which made swimming surprisingly difficult. But eventually, we were able to get close enough for mom and baby to see each other. The baby must've been scared or excited because it darted toward its mother with speed I didn't expect from such a large creature. Apparently, Oceana wasn't expecting it either, as she just barely got out its way! It swam right in front of her. The fin looked like it could've hit her. I guess you shouldn't get in between a whale and her calf. Although that's probably good advice for most mom/child pairings.
I swam back to Oceana, who seemed very startled. Fair, I would be, too, if I almost got rammed by a whale. Except she was also wildly looking around toward the sea floor like she dropped something. I began looking, too, although I had no idea what I was looking for. It was only a couple seconds before I saw something glitter below me. It appeared to be a blue cylinder attached to a chain. I began to reach for it when I heard this … sound. Like three musical notes being played. What was that? I wondered. Oceana must've noticed me reaching for it because she was swimming toward it.
That was when I heard another sound. A very loud, angry whale call. I felt a wave of water come from the side. What the …? I looked over just in time to see a very angry mother whale swimming toward me! I barely had time to think; with a burst of speed, I headed toward the nearest rock pillar. I made it behind the rock just as the whale swam through the space I was in a second ago. Her fins came dangerously close to my face. I could feel the water rush past me. She continued plowing forward. The pulse of water from her tail pushed me back into the rock. I just floated there, stunned.
Was she trying to ram me?! But why? She had her calf. Was that in response to the music? But that doesn't make any sense. Oceana came over to me then and gave me a concerned look. I gave her a thumbs up to let her know I wasn't hurt. I was still a little shaken, though. The whale seemed to have calmed down and circled back to her calf. Still, I didn't feel like being nearby in case something triggered it again. I signaled to return back to the boat. Oceana nodded and we both headed back.
"Well, how was it?" Jean-Eric asked as we surfaced nearby. "You were gone for so long I was beginning to worry."
"Great! It really is amazing how many different species there are here. Fish, dolphins, … Oh, and we saw a baby humpback whale. And then the mother humpback whale almost rammed me. I mean, I'd never seen a whale that close up before, so that was … an experience," I said. I was still a little thrown off by that. Whales aren't known for being aggressive toward humans.
"What? You were nearly hit by a humpback whale?" Jean-Eric asked, concern clear on his face. He looked at both of us. He seemed just as surprised as we had been.
"Yeah, it happened when I dropped my pendant," Oceana said as she started climbing the ladder at the back of the boat. "We were trying to help this whale calf find its mother but then my pendant came off when the calf darted in front of me. Then the pendant made this strange sound and the whale suddenly went crazy. I had gone to look for the pendant near the sea floor when the whale went right over my head! I've never seen anything like it. I'm still not sure what happened …"
"I was right above Oceana, so it came right at me."
"Are you both okay? That's very unusual behavior." He still seemed worried about us.
"I'm a little shaken but physically I'm fine." I didn't want to lie, but I also didn't want him to worry too much.
Oceana chimed in as well. "I'm fine, too. And I was able to get the pendant back, so we're all good."
"Well, I guess that explains why you took so long. I'm glad you're both alright." He paused for a moment, then turned to Oceana and asked, "So, was our new recruit any good?"
Oceana sounded excited. "Absolutely! I've never seen such quick reflexes underwater. I think she'd be a great fit."
Jean-Eric looked pleased. "Well, if Oceana approves, then that's enough for me. Why don't we head back to Nineball and talk there?"
"Sounds good." I felt tired now that the adrenaline had worn off, so I was glad to have a chance to sit and relax. We packed up all of our gear and headed off toward the island.