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Angels
of the Sea
By
Sarkis Nercessian
My parents were members of the Dilmun Divers' Club and would often
go for diving expeditions off the coast of Bahrain. At age eleven I
was an agile swimmer and all who saw me would say I swam like a fish.
By that age I had learned to hold my breath for over a minute and would
have nothing to do with flippers or any other equipment the divers used.
My father trained me well in the art of deep sea diving, so even at
age eleven I was aware of sea pressure and the danger of the bends from
surfacing too quickly. My father was always warning me to stay calm
and rise slowly, letting my body depressurize. One day on a dive my
father was pretty deep down, searching a wreck for hidden treasure.
Since the salt water appeared murky without goggles, I put on my snorkel
and mask and dove after him. Although I could not dive to the depths
the divers went, I was nevertheless able to swim deep enough to watch
the divers disappear into the sunken ship.
I wasn't too far behind when I spotted a school of sharks swimming
by just underneath some other divers in the water. The sharks were not
large, but growing up near the ocean you learn quickly that baby sharks
are often accompanied by adults. All of a sudden, I saw a release of
bubbles rising to the surface that meant someone was breathing fast
and flapping about in the water. This is one of the most dangerous things
a person can do around a shark, next to actual bleeding. I remember
thinking about my father. I could not see him, as whoever was making
all those bubbles was frantically surfacing, and coming straight for
me. I could not move out of the way fast enough, and one of the flippers
slammed into my face, disorienting me for a moment. I still could not
see my father. So I surfaced, took a gasp of air and was on my
way down again when something brushed by me very fast. I sensed something
was wrong and looked up quickly to see a great white shark. In my mind
all I could do was cry out for help and protection – I did it out
of instinct and without conscious thought. “Dear angels, help me!”
I yelled in my mind. Suddenly I felt a great calm and peace envelope
me. Seconds seemed to pass slowly as if time began to slow down. I saw
images flash before my mind's eye. I am three years old. I am playing
in a small tub of water. An elderly woman appears before my eyes and
although I have never seen her before, I somehow know that she is a
Native American Indian. She is singing softly. Both she and I are walking
in the woods and she is holding my hand, leading me to some unknown
place. I am not scared. I feel wonderful and calm. I see a light in
the distance and the trees seem to arch forming a makeshift tunnel towards
what I now recognize to be the light from a campfire. It feels so warm
and gentle; even from this distance. I don't know how, but I feel
connected to this old woman, whose face seems to change. Suddenly I
am back in the water, unsure of my direction.
The shark had turned around and was coming right for me, when something
hit it from the side like a battering ram. The shark started thrashing
in many different directions and moving as if it had a fishing line
caught in its mouth. Without delay a dolphin came and, tilting her head,
scooped me up to the surface. The water around me was full of dolphins.
With dolphins around, the water was safe again. But before I climbed
the fifteen-foot ladder to the boat, I held my hand out in the water
and the dolphin came, putting her nose to my palm making crackling noises.
Thank you, I said in focused thought, as I looked the dolphin right
in her eyes. I don't know how, but I knew deep within me that she
understood my gratitude. I wanted to give her something, something more
special, but all I could do was hug her and breathe my thanks. With
a kiss on her nose, she turned and slowly swam away. The lady who had
surfaced so fast was having some difficulty breathing, and needed help
getting into the boat, but she too would be as good as new – or
maybe better.
I have no doubt that those blessed dolphins (and my angel) heard my
mental cries for help and came to my rescue. I had neither time nor
air to make a sound, but they knew what I needed as soon as I did myself.
I am not being metaphorical in calling them blessings. My life
was given back to me when it could have been gone forever.
Sarkis
is a freelance writer who shares this personal and profound experience
about his life.
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P.J.
Ray, Rev., Certified Reiki Master
Synchronicity
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