The Light of the Blue Pearl by K.C. HAWKE Page B

and corals all weaving
together a rainbow of creation she had no idea could exist.
    In comparison to what she was seeing now,
the colors above the water’s surface could only be described as
stale. She was starting to feel even more comfortable in the water
and followed Peter around as he took her along the wall of coral,
pointing to the many creatures along the way to be sure she saw
them all.
    As she was swimming she saw a turtle below
her in its own heaven, completely unaware of the world that existed
above it. Ethne envied the turtle for a moment, realizing that
perhaps life below the surface was a freedom not felt on land.
    After a bit they returned to the boat once
again; Lily waiting for her with a smile.
    She helped Ethne back onto the boat and
handed her a towel.
    “Well?” she asked Ethne, obviously knowing
that this location was even more unbelievable than the last.
    “It was amazing,” Ethne replied, a little
too stunned from the experience to say more than that.
    While the waters of the Blue Hole had been
calming to her, this place had made her feel even more alive and
she found she was no longer tired, but abuzz from the excitement
and wonder at the beauty below. She was more than ready for their
final snorkel, hoping it would be at least as great a spot as this
was.
    They spent some time having a picnic on a
beach at Half Moon Caye and talked about what they’d done so
far.
    Peter told her the next location at the
Aquarium was also to be full of vibrant colors like this one and
that she would love it.
    She did indeed and when they were swimming
around marveling at the colorful fish around them, she noticed
something waving in the water near one of the corals. She swam over
to it, this time mindful that Peter was still close by and saw that
it was a note.
    She should have known that there was going
to be more notes hidden somewhere throughout this key excursion to
paradise, but had somehow forgotten the madness that had brought
her here. She had never imagined they would go to the lengths of
hiding something beneath the ocean’s surface for her to find.
    The note was carefully attached to the
coral; she gently removed it and held it in her hand as she made
her way back out of the water.
    She figured her guides were in on this
strange little scavenger hunt, but in case they weren’t, she
thought it would be pretty weird to have to explain what she had
just found so she decided to keep this little discovery to
herself.
    Once back on the boat Ethne was exhausted.
This day truly had been one to never forget and it had taken
everything out of her. When she was sitting alone she pulled the
note out of her pocket, unfolded it and read what it said.
    “This was test number two. Congratulations,
you passed. Enjoy the rest of your time here. When you get back
home someone will be waiting for you.”
    She read that line over and over a few
times… “someone will be waiting for you” and wondered what that
could possibly mean.
    She would have thought about it more but
frankly she was exhausted and with the day that she had just had
didn’t really feel like worrying about it.
    She put the note back in her pocket and drew
out her new prize, the flawless blue pearl. She would have never
forgotten this trip for as long as she lived anyway, but now she
had this magnificent jewel to represent the wonder of how she felt
the first time she had seen the mystical Blue Hole.
    As they made their way back to the island
she simply lay down in the boat in a completely tired but happy
daze.
    When they pulled up to the pier another boat
was arriving back from obviously a similar excursion. The sun was
in its early stages of setting so there was still enough light to
see.
    Peter helped her off the boat and handed her
her belongings. She thanked him and Lily for a wonderful day and
started making her way back to the hotel.
    As she started walking back the people from
the other boat were disembarking and she saw someone waving at