Earlier this evening, after an amazing day in Seattle with new friends, I swam, shivering, in the 60F sound. The sun, setting, lit the sky on fire The water, was the color of the nectarine I’d been offered by a produce vendor on the street.
I was one of two people swimming as the sunset. A new friend – although she doesn’t know she’s a friend just yet – was swimming, we were the only ones in the water. I’d seen her last week. She gave me the courage to put on my wetsuit and embark on my maiden voyage. This evening, she was already swimming when I got in. When she noticed me from 20 or 30feet away, she gave a wave and a smile. Without words, we communicated: “isn’t this amazing?!?”
When my new friend got out of the water ahead of me I was shocked to realize that she wasn’t wearing a wetsuit😳. Impressed, I began to pull off my wetsuit and as I did, I noticed yet another friend! They were gliding quickly through the water. When I realized that my new friend was a seal I was so happy I squealed… And then I panicked because it seemed as though he was heading straight for me and I realized that I had zero real world experience with marine wildlife.
When I turned to walk out of the water and realized that a small crowd had formed along the break wall; some were taking photos of the sunset, a handful of the seal. Since no one was yelling for me to get out, I took that as a sign that I was safe.
As I pulled off the rest of my wetsuit, the seal moved in closer to investigate. He was now within a few meters and it was clear that this was a baby. He was curious and wanted to know what I was up to.
As the sun’s spectacular show closed, I made my way back to my things; not wanting to leave the magic but increasingly aware that my hands were losing sensation and my body was quickly burning through the calories that I’d consumed many hours earlier.
To friends!
*carpe diem*
Collecting Pieces of Me 