whichIamnowfirmlyclutching likea
stringof rosarybeads. I’msoscaredI’m
praying toanyoneI thinkwill listen:
Ariel,FatherNeptune,JacquesCousteau.
Youget thepicture.Theotherdiversare
kneeling inastraight lineon thesandy
bottomasabout30sharkswithdead
eyesandpewterskinswirlbelowme like
dancers inanenergeticballet. Iamawed
and terrifiedat thesame time.Mywhole
life, I’vebeen taught thatsharksareevil
monsters, andnowhereIam inchingmy
way toward theirbullet-shaped forms.
I soon join thegroupasCristina, clad
inachain-mail suit, pullsout a livefish
froma long tube.The sharkscharge the
prey like linebackers, slidingoverour
headsand shoulders, theirbeadyeyes
inches fromourmasks.One smacksmy
sonwith its tail.An8-foot stunnergrabs
theprize fromheroutstretchedhandand
swimsaway.At theedgeof the sharkpack
swimsagrouperCristinahasdubbed
SecretAgentbecause itusuallyhangs
on the fringeswith thebadboysduring
these feedings.
Almostoncue,Stumpy, another
favoriteofCristina’s, arriveson thescene.
Likeadogwanting tobestroked,Stumpy
sidlesup toCristinaandnudgesherbelly.
Cristinabeginsrubbing the topofher
head, and it’snot longbeforeStumpy’s
eyesrollback inherheadandshesinks
to theoceanflooras ifsleeping.Cristina
thencarries thebeefysleepingbeauty to
theedgeof thegroup, andwe take turns
pettingherpebbledskinandmilky-white
underbelly.MysonandIgaze through
ourmasksateachother insilentwonder,
and for thefirst time,myheartbegins
toslow,my fearrecedes, andIabsorb
themoment. I feelpeaceandanabiding
connection to thisancientcreature,whose
ancestorshavebeenaroundsince thedays
ofdinosaurs.So this ismycloseencounter
withanapexpredator; a tendercaressat
thebottomof thesea.
Irealize thatStumpyandI (orany
shark, really)willneverbe friends.Butwe
don’thave tobemortalenemieseither.We
shareaplanet, afterall.
KATHLEENPARRISH
is a freelancewriter
inBethlehem, Pennsylvania, who teaches
journalism at LafayetteCollege inEaston. The
only thing she lostwhile sharkdivingwas her
lunchduring a choppy ride to thedive site.
78
NOVEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
Divers cautiously
watch at Shark
Junction in the
Bahamas as nearly
threedozen sharks
circle just feet in
front of them.
PHOTO
UNEXSO L I BRARY
GET
T
IN
G
TH
ER
E
American
offers
servicetoFreeport in
theBahamaswith1flight
eachonSaturdayand
Sunday from
Charlotte
(
CLT
)and19flightsaweek
from
Miami
(
MIA
).
