Lost in a Good Book- A Child's Tale
Rebecca found the book hidden under a little child's book of colors. The word "cool" escaped her lips as she examined the sharp teeth lining the mouth of a giant shark emerging from the depths of the deep blue sea. Forgetting for a moment that opening the book might send her cascading into the jaws of death she placed her thumb under the flimsy cover and opened the book.
Rebecca heard the :: POP :: and unlike the previous "cool" she had uttered another word left her mouth. Luckily she didn't go sliding into those sharp looking teeth. Instead she found herself standing on a dock beside a grown man dressed in a silly looking whale suit. He waved to her cheerfully. Looking over the side of the dock, she saw large dark shapes moving below.
"Lemon sharks- not so creepy as the big Great Whites- but still a danger. Keep your hands and arms above deck- you'll be fine." The man said with a wink.
"What are you doing?" Rebecca asked as he moved to a ladder and slipped into the water- with the sharks.
"Well, it's simple- I'm going to find out if the sharks are afraid of Killer Whales." Rebecca watched him thinking Edward would probably enjoy this sort of thing.
Rebecca shook her head and watched as he turned and dived beneath the surface. "He'll be fine." A man beside her assured her.
Rebecca thought about different ways to word that sentence. "He'll be a fine dinner. He'll be fine when he recovers in a few years. He'll be fine when he makes it to heaven."
It seemed like ages before the man came back the surface. "Almost got me that big one did." He was shaken Rebecca was relieved to see him return to the surface.
"Well, Peter at least you know now they aren't afraid of whales so much." The other man said.
Peter was silent as he surveyed the water. His large black tail trailing in the water leaving little ripples in the water. "Actually- this setting is too controlled. They had nowhere to go. I can't say conclusively that they wouldn't have fled if we'd been in the wide ocean."
"What are you saying?" Rebecca felt a weird tickle in her belly and that shifting of the universe that meant she was being pulled deeper into the book.
The ocean was choppy and Rebecca felt her stomach heave. "Where are your sea legs girlie?" one of the men asked. Her eyes fell on Peter who was again in his whale suit and preparing to go into shark infested waters. She looked down and couldn't see anything. Someone said they were going to put chum in the water to draw the sharks. This statement was followed with a bucket of blood being tipped into the sea. Rebecca watched the red and blue swirl and after checking all his gear again, Peter moved to go into the water.
Rebecca was anxious to find out what was going to happen next. She might have found out too if the librarian hadn't happened along just then.
"This is NOT a children's book." The words brought her slamming back to dry land. Rebecca blinked twice trying to get her bearings. There had been a man about to swim with wild sharks in a whale suit how could she not know what happened. "Here dear try this one instead."
Rebecca looked blandly at the popup shark book she had been handed. This had no appeal to her she found. She wanted to learn the cool stuff- about swimming with sharks in whale costumes and about how sharks teeth move to fill in empty spaces as they fall out. And how nurse sharks can be trained to hit a target with their noses. Instead she was handed a crappy baby book. Rebecca looked at it in disgust, but opened it anyway.
She was sucked into a world of paper cut out sharks. It wasn't so bad she decided as she slid down one smooth waxy surface to another. She could pretend to be eatten by these sharks. She imagined herlself in a whale suit scaring sharks away. It was fun.
Rebecca heard the :: POP :: and unlike the previous "cool" she had uttered another word left her mouth. Luckily she didn't go sliding into those sharp looking teeth. Instead she found herself standing on a dock beside a grown man dressed in a silly looking whale suit. He waved to her cheerfully. Looking over the side of the dock, she saw large dark shapes moving below.
"Lemon sharks- not so creepy as the big Great Whites- but still a danger. Keep your hands and arms above deck- you'll be fine." The man said with a wink.
"What are you doing?" Rebecca asked as he moved to a ladder and slipped into the water- with the sharks.
"Well, it's simple- I'm going to find out if the sharks are afraid of Killer Whales." Rebecca watched him thinking Edward would probably enjoy this sort of thing.
Rebecca shook her head and watched as he turned and dived beneath the surface. "He'll be fine." A man beside her assured her.
Rebecca thought about different ways to word that sentence. "He'll be a fine dinner. He'll be fine when he recovers in a few years. He'll be fine when he makes it to heaven."
It seemed like ages before the man came back the surface. "Almost got me that big one did." He was shaken Rebecca was relieved to see him return to the surface.
"Well, Peter at least you know now they aren't afraid of whales so much." The other man said.
Peter was silent as he surveyed the water. His large black tail trailing in the water leaving little ripples in the water. "Actually- this setting is too controlled. They had nowhere to go. I can't say conclusively that they wouldn't have fled if we'd been in the wide ocean."
"What are you saying?" Rebecca felt a weird tickle in her belly and that shifting of the universe that meant she was being pulled deeper into the book.
The ocean was choppy and Rebecca felt her stomach heave. "Where are your sea legs girlie?" one of the men asked. Her eyes fell on Peter who was again in his whale suit and preparing to go into shark infested waters. She looked down and couldn't see anything. Someone said they were going to put chum in the water to draw the sharks. This statement was followed with a bucket of blood being tipped into the sea. Rebecca watched the red and blue swirl and after checking all his gear again, Peter moved to go into the water.
Rebecca was anxious to find out what was going to happen next. She might have found out too if the librarian hadn't happened along just then.
"This is NOT a children's book." The words brought her slamming back to dry land. Rebecca blinked twice trying to get her bearings. There had been a man about to swim with wild sharks in a whale suit how could she not know what happened. "Here dear try this one instead."
Rebecca looked blandly at the popup shark book she had been handed. This had no appeal to her she found. She wanted to learn the cool stuff- about swimming with sharks in whale costumes and about how sharks teeth move to fill in empty spaces as they fall out. And how nurse sharks can be trained to hit a target with their noses. Instead she was handed a crappy baby book. Rebecca looked at it in disgust, but opened it anyway.
She was sucked into a world of paper cut out sharks. It wasn't so bad she decided as she slid down one smooth waxy surface to another. She could pretend to be eatten by these sharks. She imagined herlself in a whale suit scaring sharks away. It was fun.