Sorry I posted this so late.
The pickings were slim. The area was getting harvested by the others. There was little point in returning day after day.
Kailani kept going farther and farther out. As a result, she was forced to dive to ever greater depths. But her desire to feed herself and her parents drove her to even greater risks.
A black pearl would provide the income necessary for food and necessities for a few days. Larger ones would provide even more. But the black pearl oysters were becoming harder and harder to find.
There was one other option. Rumor had it that Shark Lagoon had many such oysters. But there were many complications to that scenario.
The first was that the lagoon was aptly named. Sharks cruised throughout the waters. They fed on virtually anything that moved… or so the story went. Very few girls would risk going to Shark Lagoon to search for the black pearl oysters.
The best time to hunt for the pearls was in the evening under the moonlight. But it was hazardous diving after dark. However, it gave one a chance to hide in the shadows in case of the presence of a shark.
Most daunting was the depth of Shark Lagoon. Divers in scuba gear had found the oysters, but at a depth greater than 15 fathoms. It was quite the challenge for a girl who could not afford to purchase dive fins. Kailani had barely managed to acquire the oval dive mask she now used.
Most of all, her parents would forbid it. She dared not ask them. They would promptly turn her down flat, making her promise them she would never dive in Shark Lagoon. And as an obedient daughter, even though she had long since come of age, she would feel compelled to obey them.
She felt she had no other options available to her. She dared not ask the other divers for help. They had others depending upon them for survival, just like she did. So she made her own secretive plans.
On the night of a full moon, she waited until her parents had gone to sleep. Then she crept out of their hut. She made her way down to the shore where she set out in her wooden boat.
There was no one else out on the water. It was just her. Kailani felt isolated, yet invigorated and hopeful.
It took her an hour to reach the lonely lagoon. She rowed out to what looked like a promising spot. Then she slipped on her dive mask.
She attached her blade to her thong. It barely covered her crotch. She was already topless, as she always dove without a top that might prove to be an obstruction.
She looked down into the water. She saw nothing in the immediate vicinity. But that could change in an instant.
She picked up her anchor, making sure it was secured to the boat. She’d recently added an extra length of rope to it. She hoped it would be enough to reach the floor of the deep lagoon.
She took several deep breaths. Then she leaned over the side and held her breath. She hit the water with a splash, the anchor in her grasp.
She tried to equalize as the anchor pulled her deeper. She felt the pressure increase against her naked body. It caused her nub to stiffen, stirring feelings of sexual arousal.
She bottomed out and immediately took stock of her surroundings. She would have to work fast. At this depth, she would not be able to hold her breath and stay down for very long.
She searched all along the bottom until she found an oyster. Hope sprang within her as she pried it loose with her knife. She put it into a small pouch she was carrying, which dangled on the opposite side of her body from her blade.
She looked around until she felt that familiar warning stir in her lungs. She went back to the anchor line and grabbed on. It was time to head up. Reluctantly, she headed back to the surface, knowing it was best not to tempt fate.
She pulled herself hand over hand up her anchor line. She anxiously looked all around as she ascended, releasing the occasional bubble. So far so good.
It got lighter as she approached the surface. She pulled harder, releasing more bubbles as her lungs burned, her lady parts tingling. Then she burst up in the moonlight, gasping for breath.
Kailani quickly climbed back into her boat. She was not about to tempt anything in the water by brandishing a tasty leg. She could not afford to take chances.
Hopeful, she took her knife and pried the oyster open. There was nothing inside but flesh. Good eating, but nothing of greater value. It would only take one large one to make it a worthy outing… perhaps two. Three would even be better.
She pulled the anchor back up until she got it to the boat. She did not want to make the long swim down while following the line. It would use up most of her breath and energy. So she would drop it again, with her clinging to it.
She let the boat drift a little as she got her breath back. Then she looked down over the side. Nothing so far.
She leaned over the side and allowed the anchor to take her right down with a splash. She tried to equalize as the pressure increased all over her body. Her nub thrummed, her lady parts quivering as they always did in the depths.
She grunted as the anchor hit bottom. She looked around in the dim moonlight penetrating the depths until she located something. She pulled out her blade and pried it loose.
She tucked it into her pouch before looking around. Over there… there was another! She swam over to it and worked it free with her knife. Into the pouch it went.
She was feeling the urge to return to the surface when she spotted one more. A haul of three sounded promising. Perhaps the gods were with her this night.
She worked it loose and put it into her pouch. Then she swam back to the line. She grabbed it and started up, feeling hopeful.
She had barely gotten started when she felt the line vibrate in her hand. Kailani looked upward. Her heart skipped a beat as an ominous shadow passed by about halfway up.
No! Not now?? Not when she might have something of value in her pouch? Go away – shoo!
She saw a second one. It must have bumped her line because she felt it vibrate in her hands again. No; not two of them??
They were prowling, looking for something. Wait; now there was a third one?? Go away; I’m not down here! I taste awful; shoo!
Holding her breath in silent desperation, Kailani watched as another shark joined them… and then another. Her lungs were beginning a slow burn in her chest. She had to get to the surface or she would drown. But she might be torn to pieces if she tried to go up now. Did she dare risk it??
The Polynesian diver girl held her breath with determined resolve, hoping the sharks would swim away. They hadn’t been there before. So there was no reason for them to stick around now; was there?
Oh, no. Her boat. Had her boat attracted them?
Her lungs ached as she fought to ignore the relentless urge to breathe. She’d been in a situation before where she’d stayed down a little too long. So she did now what she did back then by swallowing hard to suppress that urgent demand in her chest for air.
Another shark appeared, another vibration of the rope in her hands. They were hitting the anchor line now. Were they curious; did they sense a meal somewhere nearby?
The sharks circled endlessly, disappearing from view only to return. The pretty Polynesian girl was losing her struggle to hold her breath. Kailani realized in quiet despair that her time was running out.
She had to go now. If she didn’t, it might only be a matter of seconds before that awful moment came. Then, unable to hold her breath any longer, she’d have to give up the remaining air in her lungs and gulp down that fatal lungful of seawater. She would drown… alone… fathoms deep in the silent blue depths of this lonely lagoon full of oysters… and sharks.
She frantically looked upward. Then her lungs heaved in her chest. Instinctively, she began clawing her way up the rope, instantly regretting her decision to come and hunt for oysters in Shark Lagoon.
Would the gods allow her to live? Would they be merciful? To drown or to risk being eaten alive? It was not much of a choice.
She pulled her way up the rope, losing bubbles out of her mouth. That’s when she suspected she’d stayed down too long. She was not going to make it up in time.
She saw a shark hit the anchor line well above her. Then another one swam by, this one much closer. She could see a third one curiously checking out her boat.
She pulled hard, losing more bubbles out of her mouth. Something bumped into her foot. That’s when terror opened up her lungs in a bubbly cry.
She hitched and gurgled as she inhaled seawater. She immediately lost all muscle coordination. Worse, the pressure at her depth took away any buoyancy she might possibly have had.
She went into spasms and convulsions as she began to sink. Legs kicked feebly as hands haphazardly clawed upward. It hurt worse than she could possibly have imagined.
Kailani kept inhaling seawater. She couldn’t believe she was still conscious. Then she saw a shark coming toward her and prayed she would not feel the bite of its jaws.
On this night, the gods were merciless. She felt knives bite down into her right leg. She grunted and shuddered as the shark rolled its eyes, shaking her in its mouth.
Unfortunately, Kailani was conscious long enough to feel the second one bite into her shoulder…
1-18-25 Inspired by a JustPaul render and his story idea.