The Greatest Treasure

[Hope you'll enjoy your reading ! <3 ]

The Greatest Treasure

Sola had spent the entire morning supervising novice divers eager to take part in the underwater treasure hunt organized by the Aquatics. She was beginning to feel both hunger creeping up on her and the urge to join her family, who were staying for the week—a week she fully intended to make the most of. Apparently, some cooks from the mainland had decided to come and offer their services for the festival, and there was no way she was going to miss the chance to taste their delicious dishes either ! And besides, ever since her father had donned his ancestor’s old ceremonial battle attire, something seemed to be brewing between Storge, her little brother’s companion, and her father… She had a feeling that the two of them were determined to face each other during the Water Fight, and there was absolutely no way she was going to miss that !

As she put away her equipment and placed a “On Break” sign on the table of her own stand, Sola cast one last look at the vast expanse of deep-blue water, its surface glittering like a magnificent, sparkling diamond. She gazed lovingly at this magnificent treasure that she cherished so dearly and that people called the ocean, letting out an admiring sigh. What if she treated herself to one last dive ? After all, there was no reason this hunt should only benefit everyone else. Her students had made so many improbable discoveries during their own dives. What might her own plunge into the ocean depths have in store for her ? There was only one way to answer that question : exploring them, right ? In that case, she clearly had no choice, don’t you think ?

“ Oh, screw it ! ”

Guided by impulse and the irresistible call of the sea, Sola ran toward the shore. Her footsteps soon churned the shallows into a mixture of lively splashes and foam before she took a deep breath and gracefully dove headfirst into the water, just like one of the joyful otters she loved so much. Immediately, she found herself enveloped by the peaceful underwater world of the sea, the element where she felt perfectly at home. Her body moved effortlessly with the current until she reached the coral shelves along the ocean floor. Attentive, she didn’t miss a single detail of this environment, as rich and colorful as it was fascinating, which never failed to amaze her. She couldn’t have explained why, but she felt deeply connected to it.

Very quickly, her original goal gradually faded from her mind, as she became too absorbed in watching the aquatic ballets unfolding before her shining eyes, filled with humble gratitude. Multicolored and silvery schools of fish followed one another in glittering flashes, their wake carrying the silhouettes of fabulous creatures, some more friendly than others. And already, Sola recognized some of them. The purple octopus whose fourth arm was now almost fully regenerated, whom she had treated a week earlier, gave her what looked like a little wave with its regenerating tentacle. The clownfish she had saved from ending up in a fishing net didn’t attack her when she swam over its anemone, and she smiled when she noticed that it had found itself a mate.

And so, her treasure hunt eventually turned into a visit to her former little patients, though not all of them could exactly be called “little.” Her favorite playmate even did her the great honor of joining her on her stroll, inviting her to take part in her favorite shell-finding activity, bringing her handful after handful of shells. Sola accepted every single one and carefully collected them to help the sea otter bring them back to the surface so her sea friend could eat them afterward. Well, the edible ones, anyway. As for the others, she would consider them gifts that she could later give to her mother to use in making jewelry. It was only when she took another deep breath that she realized she hadn’t found a single thing she had originally come looking for. Or perhaps she had ?

“ Well, I really ought to head back. Maybe the treasures will have to wait for another time. ”

And so she began swimming as peacefully as could be toward the shore, crossing paths along the way with a young green turtle she had once freed from a fisherman’s net when it had gotten itself into quite a predicament, and then nursed back to health until it had regained its strength. Well, there it was, her greatest treasure after all : in the joy of seeing her former charges once again, bursting with life, and enjoying alongside them the wonders the sea had to offer. As this thought crossed her mind, she let out a satisfied sigh, a broad, delighted smile spreading across her muzzle while her heart beat peacefully in her chest. Yes, there could be no greater treasure for a lover of the sea like her. And there probably never would be. Except, of course, for the immeasurable wealth represented by her family.

Once she reached the beach, she imitated her otter friend and lay on her back, letting herself float all the way onto the warm sand, her haul of shells resting against the scales of her belly. There, she enjoyed the caress of the waves against her fur for another little while. That was when she felt something tugging at the fur on her tail. She carefully sat up and realized that something had become tangled in it. Seaweed, wood, rocks or dead coral, surely, as was almost always the case whenever she went diving… It was going to take her forever to untangle it all again… But when she brought her fluffy tail up to her hands, she was surprised to discover that something else entirely had gotten caught in her crimson fur. Something much less natural…

“ What in the world is this ? ”

It was a small glass bottle, barely more than ten centimeters long, which seemed to have been deliberately tied to her tail with a long piece of string that itself appeared to be made from braided seaweed. Curious… She picked it up and, to her relief, realized that the string wasn’t too badly tangled in her red fur. That was when she noticed a long piece of coral inside the bottle, which appeared to have been carved and engraved. She grabbed the container and removed its spongy stopper, made from sea sponge, before sliding the piece of red coral into the palm of her hand. There was a heart engraved in its center, along with a few words that were somewhat difficult to decipher, as though the person who had written them wasn’t very skilled at writing.
She read the message aloud :

“ Thank you, friend. ”

Troubled, she wondered whether the message had really been meant for her. Then she noticed a letter engraved on the other side of the coral : a large, very serpentine S, the first letter of her name. Touched, she gently closed her hand around the piece of reef and pressed it against her heart before murmuring, her large, emotional eyes gazing out over the vast blue expanse :

“ You’re very welcome. ”

Then she stood up, a smile on her lips and her heart feeling light, and went to rejoin her loved ones, carrying with her far more than she had originally come looking for.

The End.

[ Thank you for reading ! <3 ]