During the storm

*Offsite word counter; 745 but WDC counter says 733*


"Get out!"

Art turned her head in the direction the woman on the beach was pointing.

Lightening flashed in the sky.

Hell. Not now.

She turned and swam hard towards shore. Always a daredevil, risk taker and attention hog she had known a storm was coming. She went into the ocean anyways.

A fin cut across her path,

Oh this is NOT happening.

Warning shouts on the beach was turning into screams.

She could see it now. Tomorrows headline: Antarctica Brace eaten by shark during storm. Music world cries.

The fin disappeared as the sky draw darker.

Hell with it.

She went back to swimming.

The fin reappeared and started to circle.

Thunder cracked.

She took a deep breath and dove under water changing her swimming style. She figured the strokes were making her look like a target. As she moved her arms in front of her and kicked differently

The shark passed her. Great White.

She looked up. The storm was above her. At this point it was black enough to be night and the clouds were thick enough to stuff pillows with. They flickered too with the buildup of electricity inside of them.

It was those slowly moving moments that followed she felt deeply content. She had made a career out of nature. Now nature was aiming to take her down. Art always figured she would be reflective and sad at deaths door. She thought she would think of her kids and the dreams she had yet to follow.

She only thought about how beautiful it was to be underwater with a light show overhead and to have such a massive, yet sleek and calm creature of the deep blue sea with her.

A lack of air drove her up. She made for the surface and took a draw of air. Around her the sky cracked and rumbled. It was almost musical in its rhythm. It was as if the storm instead of causing fear draw it away bringing in its place a feeling of belonging. A feeling of knowing ones place in the world.

The shark rose with her.

It drew her attention. It only circled her. Again. As she watched it seemed to circle her and guide her.

Well I'll be...

She looked to the beach. She saw the beach patrol parked as close to the water as they could. A man sat on the hood. Armed.

She understood then. She always sang about Mother Earth and Father Time. About how life survives and grows. About love and death. But she was only a vessel that speaks what is known but never listened before.

I'm listening now. She looked at the sky above.

Lightning flashed again. The bolt lit up the whole sky making it almost as bright as the day had started.

Art got a good look at the shark.

In that moment she recalled something she was once told. That when one performs a good deed in life, that good deed is one day repaid. Two years ago she had cut a great white loose that had gotten tangled in a cable during a underwater photo shoot.

She was looking at the same shark.

She knew what needed to be done. To save her life, they both must risk death.

She dove underwater again and made for shore.

She felt the water around her shift as the shark moved behind her. Against all known logic and common sense, she allowed herself to swim true and straight for the shore.

The fin disappeared from sight. She sensed the tension change around her although she didn't see it happen. It was as if the ocean sat still for the event.

Oh please let this work.

The shark hit her.

She was hit in the gut by the nose. She fought the urge to hit back. Instead she gripped it and hung on.

They exploded out of the water.

In another burst of lightning she let go and let the force of the airborne shark send her flying.

She hit the water again.

Ungracefully but in the shallows.

Screams mixed with cheers.

All she could do as soon as she was close enough to stand was holler. "Don't shoot the shark!"

But as fate would have it, the shark was long gone. Its' role completed. As the storm progressed, a final clap of thunder. Then the rain came bringing with it a wide and final blanket of calmness.