Times of the Islands Spring 2022

When I asked if he was ready to do the next dive, he
looked at me and said, “Would you really take me on
another dive?” The process was different this time. He
was looking at me and smiling; he was ready to go. We
geared up and off we went. He was equalizing and signaling,
looking confident and relaxed. With no mask issues
to deal with, he went right back to looking for creatures
and showing me his hand signals for each one he found.
My mask filled with tears of joy as I watched this young
man experiencing the wonder of this underwater world
and the healing power of the sea. We stayed side-by-side,
and he showed me creatures and I showed him creatures,
and when he saw his first shark, instead of being afraid,
he turned to me, beaming the biggest smile and did the
“shark” sign.
Often spotted in schools, the yellowtail snapper is an abundant species
of snapper native to the western Atlantic Ocean.
We made our way to the boat and headed back to
shore. The flower that had blossomed was closed again.
He laid his head on his mother’s back and never said
a word. She told me that he had never had a conversation
with another adult and when he talked to me the
entire surface interval, she knew something special had
happened under water. She opened up to me about his
struggles, his low self-worth, and his depression. The
things I learned about this young man broke my heart,
but also made me realize that being below the waves had
reached a part of him previously shut off and inaccessible.
I was determined to help him re-gain the happiness
and confidence the sea had drawn out of him.
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