Beloved - Elaine Abery

You were always there for me, my dear, faithful, trusted friend.

Together, we embraced clear, sparkling, sun-kissed waters, misty moon-sets and warm, orange sun-rises.

You were with me through rough and stormy seas, grey skies and heavy rain-laden clouds.

You held me close through the adrenaline highs of visits from Bruce and Shazza, the bull-sharks.

You marvelled with me as we encountered turtles, too many types of ray to name, colourful fish – large and small and the gentle grey nurse, port Jackson and wobbegong sharks.

As dolphins played with us, under us and around us, your smile was as big as mine.

A beacon of colour and life, your ever-calm presence soothed me as we blazed a trail through seaweed and jellyfish so thick and plentiful that it was hard to see our way forward.

You were there for me as blue bottles seared my skin, feeling like I had been electrocuted, until the pain died down into throbbing, swollen lines of angry red.

There were times when I thought I was losing you, and I grabbed for you when I didn’t know which was up or down, as I was rolled around by powers far greater than I.

Sometimes, as I put out my hand for you, random things appeared in my hands instead, like someone else’s lost goggles, or large chunks of hairy seaweed.

But now, beloved, it is time. We must regretfully part ways.