Majestic
by Rio Bivens
Majestic. Was that the word? He had heard it whispered once, long ago, as he surfaced for air. Surely not him? He was old and cumbersome, flukes covered in barnacles. Perhaps there was a kind of beauty. In his gentle motion. His graceful dives. The flukes of his tail. Perhaps there was an awe in watching his slow, steady motion as he rose and fell like the tide, breathing and diving. Was that majestic? Instinct told him to rise. He blew a fountain of spray, preparing to breathe as a small boat approached. He felt no fear, he was too large to be afraid any more. He was invincible. Majestic.
Through the rippled water he saw a face. A human calf, leaning over the side of the boat. Her mouth gaped open.
‘Wow!’
The word echoed dimly through the water. Instinct called him back down, to the krill below. He dived smoothly, tail flukes lifting. Powering to the depths, he thought he heard joyous laughter.
He rose again, a mighty force of nature, able to displace tonnes of water. He would not be here for long – something had shifted in the seasons, calling him south to breed. The boat was still there, a tiny speck in the endless ocean. He felt a stinging sensation on his dorsal fin, almost registering as pain. It lasted but a moment, then faded into the vast abyss of the blue. A noise. The people on the deck were putting their hands together and apart, rapidly and repeatedly, their shapes distorted by the water in front of his eyes. They were fast and small, yet somehow important – of that he was sure. He dived again, steady as the currents that would carry him south.
* * *
The humpback picked up speed. The pilot throttled back the engine, but she held up her hand. The whale was travelling now, and they had finished their work. She glanced across at her partner, still holding the modified tagging rifle. They grinned, full of awe. Perhaps they could understand, even save these magnificent creatures, one tracker at a time. They dared to believe it was possible.
On the computer screen, a little dot travelled across the bay, marking where the great whale had gone. She had no words, save the timeless description. Majestic.
Inspiration: Having recently been whale watching, humpbacks and their almost impossible grace and majesty were on my mind. I liked the idea of portraying such an amazing experience from a different perspective to the one we normally hear.
Image by Brigitte Werner from Pixabay
Rio is an eighteen year old bookworm who has loved writing stories for as long as she can remember. She was recently a finalist in the New College of the Humanities Essay Competition, which encouraged her to keep writing and entering her stories into competitions and publications.