Secret Of The Sea

This is almost a true story. When you reach the end, you may want to learn more, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you. You see, it’s a secret.

[The blue bottle in this story, the Blue Bottle Jellyfish (Physalia utriculus) is also called the Portuguese Man of War.  If one of their tentacles, which can be up to ten meters in length, touches human skin, it results in a extremely painful sting.]

It all started one weekend when we were down by the sea. At the time, I had no idea what would be revealed to me. I had no way of knowing that the sea would choose me, to show me a secret that would change my life forever.

Every day, my wife and I walked to and fro along the beach to enjoy the waves lapping the shore and breathe in the salty air.

As if luck happened to be with us, we found cuttlebone washed up from the last tide. This was precious to us because our birds back home in their aviary loved it. The cuttlebone we found was only small, which was perfect for my finches and canaries to be able to pick up and play with.

When I saw the cuttlebone, it reminded me of a friend, George, who loved to fish, be it rain, hail or shine. He was slightly crazy and would fish in a bucket of salty water if he couldn’t fish in the sea. One time, after a fishing expedition, he gave me a cuttlebone that was larger than a man’s foot.

“One never knows what the sea will release from her depths,” he said to me in his knowing way. “No tide is ever the same as the preceding one. And the sea abandons so many items during the high tides. Of course, to see everything the tide has scattered out on the wet sand, a person must be up early with the morning sun.”

One morning, we walked up the sand bar which hid the sea and the sandy beach below. Once we reached the top, we spied a group of people assembling chairs and raking the already smooth beach.

My wife experienced a meditative moment, and said, “Oh look! There is going to be a wedding. I love weddings. They are so romantic. To have a wedding with the sound of the waves gently lapping the shore is such a beautiful idea.”

She tenderly held my hand, clearly thinking back to the time when we were married, so many years ago.

I looked along the sand and noticed five Buddhist monks along the shore. They too had been drawn towards the power of the sea. They were spaced out a hundred metres apart. They stood still and gazed out beyond the horizon. Maybe they were meditating in the upright position, I decided.

With my wife’s hand still in mine, we continued our walk, eyes firmly focussed on the sand. We were hoping to find a small piece of white cuttlebone that had been stranded by the sea.

My wife suddenly stopped in her tracks, and said, “Look over there, all the blue bottles are still here. They have been here now for two days. Maybe no creatures will dare to eat, or even get close to them. Those long thin blue strands of their stingers are so painful. The least touch...” And she shuddered.

I nodded and suddenly felt a strange force beckon me to look ahead to a rocky ledge. I looked and saw another Buddhist monk standing at the edge of the rocks that jutted out into the sea. I was not sure if he intended to walk into the sea, or attempt to walk on the waves.

Then I looked closer to where I was standing and saw a bird. It was a very special bird. A bird covered in black feathers and adorned with a red beak. This bird was viciously attacking a blue bottle that had been stranded on the sand.

I squeezed my wife’s hand and whispered, “Look! The answer to our question is right before us. This is the creature that devours blue bottles!”

The bird was too intent to be concerned about us, mere humans. After many pecks at the blue bottle, the bird held it safely in its red beak. And, as if to show us something very special, the bird carefully washed the blue bottle in the sea. After doing this to its satisfaction, the bird flew off towards the horizon with its newly collected prize.

I was amazed and deeply touched by the experience. I wanted to share this knowledge with someone who was worthy, and would understand the complexities of this event.

I looked at the monk who was just ahead of us. I saw his spiritual smile and knew he was the one with whom I must share this secret.

I smiled at him, and said, “We had a riddle that needed to be solved. What devours blue bottles? Of course, I know that nature in her wisdom would have something to keep everything balanced, the Ying and Yang of Life.”

I paused as he smiled at my understanding.

And so I continued, “It was right before us. The sea has made a point to show us the answer.”

The Buddhist monk continued to smile his smile of complete understanding. He then placed his hands over mine and gave me a two-handed hand shake, it was very spiritual.

I discovered I was suddenly able to read his thoughts.

His thoughts said to me, “Yes, Gardenmouse, the way to the secrets of life is the way it will always be. You have observed well and have been able to grasp what the sea was trying to tell you. The black oyster-catcher is only one of the sea’s friends. Now you must be patient and sit by the sea and wait. Wait until the waves again crash onto the shore for you with another message to reveal more.”

I closed my eyes and took a breath to understand what he had told me. I breathed out and opened my eyes, and he was gone.

My wife broke the magic of the moment by saying, “So dear, when did you first realise the Buddhist monk could not speak or understand English?

I chuckled but I did not reveal everything to my wife. After all, I was the one who had been chosen to have the privilege to learn a secret of the sea.

- Gardenmouse  
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.