Some people can hold their breath underwater for a long time. Finn can stay under longer than anyone else. He discovered this ability when he left his mother’s womb.
Later in life, he learned his single mom was on an ocean cruise when an alarm sounded. The ship had struck an iceberg in the open ocean and was sinking fast. Voices screamed in terror when the panic set in. None of those voices, however, sounded familiar.
His mother was in her ninth month of pregnancy and he was ready to come out. The ship took on water quickly and everyone on board would soon perish, everyone that is, except Finn.
The ship slowly descended and Finn felt a sudden cooling of his surroundings. His mother’s body slipped into the icy waters. At first, he detected her shiver and overwhelming fear, but then, within minutes of feeling the coolness, a wave of calm washed over them. A bright light appeared above Finn’s head as his mother used her muscles to push him toward it. Feeling no resistance, he came out of her and felt a sudden change in the environment. He continued breathing in fluids, but rather than amniotic fluid, he inhaled cold seawater. His little heart thumped in his chest.
His mother’s calm voice said, “Inhale, exhale.”
The words came at him over and over. He didn’t hear actual spoken words, but he understood the message, and he obeyed. Taking in saltwater and exhaling it, relaxed him.
Just then, a big fish with sharp teeth came at him and he flinched with what must’ve been a natural reaction and raised his little hands in defense. But, instead of biting Finn, the fish chomped on a cord that attached him to his mother. His body quivered as the fish severed the tether. The reddish-pink water around the child swirled as the fish swam away.
He caught only a glimpse of his mother’s serene countenance before she descended into the ocean darkness.
“Forgive me!” she cried in some form of telepathic manner.
Finn was saddened, certain he’d never see her again. He flapped his arms and kicked his legs, and the action propelled his body forward. The motion felt good and liberating. This movement wasn’t the same as moving inside the walls of his mother’s tummy. The sensation awakened a certain curiosity within him, so he started exploring the sea.
The cold seawater was a welcome embrace for him; he hadn’t felt so alive when he was in his mother’s womb. The heavy swell of the waves, the undulating rhythm of the ocean, and the salty taste on his lips were sensations he’d never experienced. He was in a world of his own, free from the constraints of his mother’s body, and he relished the feeling of being alive.
Finn explored his newfound aquatic realm, swaying with the ebbs and flows of the tide, and taking in the awe-inspiring sights. Schools of silvery fish swarmed around him, their scales glistening in the sunlight. Colorful coral reefs spread out beneath him, their intricate shapes and textures a vivid contrast to the waves above. He felt a rush of adrenaline, realizing he was the only human being in this surreal environment.
As he navigated the depths, he was met with a host of new experiences. He mingled with creatures of all shapes and sizes. Some he recognized from his mother’s tales about the ocean, and some he couldn’t identify. And yet, he felt a strange kinship with these creatures, who moved with him gracefully through the currents. He shivered as he passed by a giant octopus, its massive tentacles reaching out to him as if to offer a greeting. Finn marveled at the beauty of the jellyfish, their tentacles undulating in the water like a field of gentle, floating flowers.
But his underwater journey wasn’t filled merely with amazement and wonder; he also encountered moments of fear. A large shark startled him, its menacing silhouette moving through the water at a frightening speed. Finn jerked back when a giant squid emerged from the depths, its huge, glowing eyes watching him pass by.
The mystery of the ocean held a strange fascination for him, and he soon found himself drawn to its depths. He dove farther and farther down, into a world of shadows and intrigue. Here, he discovered a whole new set of creatures, from strange, alien-looking fish with luminescent scales to beds of giant clams that stretched as far as the eye could see. As he explored this alien landscape, he felt a strange calm, as if the ocean connected him to a greater power.
When Finn made his way back toward the surface, he felt a sudden pull from the depths. he resisted at first but eventually surrendered to the powerful force. The ocean current somehow brought him back to the surface, where a team of grown people pulled him out of the water. He couldn’t talk but they were astonished he survived the ship’s demise. They’d never seen anyone breathe underwater. They marveled at his courage and resilience, his ability to survive in such a hostile environment.
One of the rescuers, a woman, held him up by his ankles and spanked his bottom. He wanted to bite her the way the big fish had bitten his cord, but alas, he had no teeth, so he cried. Apparently, his crying was the desired effect because all the men gave her a round of applause. The air burned Finn’s throat and dried out his lungs as the rescuers wrapped him in a blanket and took him to safety. They’re the ones who named him Finn.
In the years that followed, Finn discovered he retained an extraordinary gift - the ability to swim and breathe underwater as effortlessly as any fish. Yet this unique talent set him apart from others, making it difficult for him to forge meaningful connections on land. Despite his longing for companionship, he remained a solitary figure, yearning for a sense of belonging and carrying a deep sense of loss for his mother.
Finned married the first girl who seemed to understand him and his love for the sea. Two weeks later, he joined the Marine Corps. But his offshore outings took him from her for longer and longer periods of time. When the shine had worn off their marriage, he cut the ties.
On a perfect spring morning with flat seas and clear blue skies, then-private Finn made a terrible mistake when he left his wife. He held her hands, a receding wave sweeping sand out from under his bare feet. “I joined the Navy ... I do love you, but the sea is my lady,” he’d said ignorantly. That was forty years ago, but he remembered the event and his deep regret as if it happened only yesterday.
Today, one-star retired general Finn relaxed in a beach chair near the old dock of Marina Vallarta, comparing the sea’s calm and the striking sky to the ones in his memory. On the water, the sun danced in diamonds. He was still a man of logic and reason, but he felt different these days. He’d spent his entire life serving in the Marines, making tough decisions and leading his troops with precision. But now life was slower, more serene.
Soon after he was promoted from full-bird colonel to his first star, he retired and realized he wasn’t the kind of person to sit around the house and spend endless hours surfing the net. Within two weeks, he hired a small fishing crew. Yesterday, he’d brought his men to this port to relax after a week at sea, harvesting shrimp and red snapper. Their haul had been abundant, but tiring. They were, after all, the real fishermen. He just enjoyed being El Jefe. His men had earned the time off and he needed a respite, now that he was in his late sixties.
He glanced toward the jetty where his boat bobbed and strained impatiently against its mooring. On the beach, he spotted a Mexican couple by the shoreline walking toward him. A double set of footprints in the damp sand trailed them back to the rocky foreshore. He caught a faint whiff of a pleasant fragrance, no doubt emanating from the señorita.
Turning back to the lapping waves, he thought, that lucky guy should be me. But on this day, he would not rendezvous with any paramour. After his divorce, female companions were more like weekend flings than real relationships. Nothing lasted more than a couple of days and nights. Sometimes he missed the intimacy and quiet moments associated with being a couple. His adoptive parents weren’t alive anymore and he’d never remarried.
Was it too late? Could he still find true love? At times he felt like the only man amongst his younger peers with a paralyzing fear; time was running out for him.
As he ruminated about his four decades in the Marines, a dark shadow passed over him as though a cloudburst was about to happen. He turned his head and saw the couple, hand in hand, strolling behind him. They smiled politely but said nothing.
Finn smiled back.
For a moment, the area around him went strangely quiet. It was as if he’d been transported to a different place. There was a soft splash, and a majestic woman rose from the water like a scuba diver rising to the surface, but she wore no such gear. The upper part of her shiny swimsuit sparkled as she treaded the calm water. Her smooth and ivory skin glistened as the moisture trickled off her hair and down her shoulders, over her prominent breasts.
Their eyes met. She gazed at him.
He stared back and felt immediate curiosity about the way her alluring eyes were now downcast and the corners of her mouth curled up.
General Finn was sure he was dreaming. With her long flowing hair and shimmering scales of her suit, the woman seemed too fantastical to be real.
With a slender gracefully extended arm, she waved at him. Then her soft and gentle voice broke the silence. “Come join me,” she said. “The water’s fine.”
His heartbeat quickened.
“I’m sure it is,” he said, “but I don’t swim much anymore.”
“But I’ve seen you out on your boat.”
“That’s right,” the general said. “I was on the boat, not in the water.”
Where had she seen him?
“We’ve only been here a coupla days. Where’d you see me?” he asked.
She spun her body around in the water like a child who enjoys dizzying herself. When she stopped, she swung her body in such a way that he caught a glimpse of a fishtail.
At that moment, Finn believed she was not human, but a living, breathing creature nonetheless.
She tilted her head. “I’ve seen you in lots of places, the Marietas Islands and over by Yelapa, other places too.”
General Finn’s interest was piqued. Why had this lady been at all those places and at the same time as him? Maybe he was being “pranked.” Some of his fellow retirees were quite capable of pulling well-planned stunts like this.
The woman in the water splashed teasingly toward the general. “Come on, You’re not too old to swim again.”
He chuckled, “Nah, I don’t have a fancy tail like you.” He hoped this would draw her out of her ruse or “being in character.”
It didn’t work.
“Most people don’t, but that’s what makes me special. Come on in,” she said waving him toward her.
The ambient air was now in the nineties and the humidity was high. He was still in the zone of silence. A dip in the water would be nice.
He rose, limbered up, then walked knee-deep into the water. The sea was warm, but still cooler than the tropical air. “You’re right,” he said, “It feels good.”
“Come closer,” she said, patting her chest above her heart. She extended her fingers as if to emphasize the drama of her gesture.
He waded in, closing the distance between them. As he neared her, he noticed her skin was flawless and the shiny scales were not a swimsuit but part of her skin.
He thought about placing his hand on hers to be assured she was real. “What’s your name?”
She gave him a demure smile. “Ariel.”
He laughed. “You mean like the Little Mermaid?”
She puffed out her chest. “Do I look little to you?”
He didn’t answer but caught himself staring at her smooth, tanned tummy and hoping for a glimpse of more of her skin. He decided he liked everything about this woman.
She reached out and took him by the hand.
A ticklish tingle ran through him. He liked the feeling and didn’t resist her lead.
“I want to show you something,” she said. “It has something to do with your special swimming skills.”
How did she know about that?
Ariel dipped her head into the water and her tail flipped into the air like a dolphin diving deep.
He held onto her hand. Behind him, the splash of her tail ended the eerie silence. Within seconds the water turned into a murky yet, enchanting bliss. The tropical warmth against his skin reminded him of his mother’s embrace. It was whole and complete as when he suckled on her breast as an infant.
And as if she had read his mind, Ariel somehow communicated to him. “I’ll take care of you, don’t worry.”
She must be telepathic. Can I trust her? he thought.
“Always,” she said.
They descended slowly until the dark abyss became a brightly lit space. He looked around, startled by the mythic beauty of the world around him, the rainbow-colored fish, the swaying kelp and starfish on the ocean floor.
As she glanced back at him, he saw an expression on her face reflecting his own feelings of longing and yearning of the truest kind.
“Semper fi, Jefe,” she said. She led him through a tunnel to a spacious chamber.
Finn was shocked when he saw his mother’s body entombed within a shimmering crystal. Overwhelmed with emotion and longing for closure, he listened as Ariel gave him a message from his mother.
“She wanted your forgiveness.”
“Forgiveness for what?”
“For not saving you from drowning. She didn’t believe me when I told her you survived,” Mariel said. “So we preserved her and brought her here… for you.”
Finn stared at his mother. “Can she hear me?”
“Place your hand on the crystal and speak from your heart. She’ll hear you.”
Touched by this revelation, Finn finally began to understand the depth of his mother's love and the true meaning of family. He edged close to the crystal and placed his right hand on it. “I forgive you, Mother … I love you so much. I always have and I always will.”
As soon as he mouthed the words, the crystal glowed brightly, and then in an instant, it vanished.
Ariel swam to him and gave him a warm embrace.
Together with Ariel by his side and his mother's spirit guiding him from beyond, Finn was now able to navigate the depths of emotion and finally find peace within himself. He’d found his home.
Finn heard someone call his name, but it wasn’t Ariel.
On the beach, an EMT scanned the water. He looked at the Mexican couple. “I don’t see anybody. Are you sure he went down in this specific area?”
The man answered, “As sure as God is our witness.”
About the author
Michael M. Pacheco is a writer living in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. He received his BA from Gonzaga University and earned his Juris Doctorate at Willamette University College of Law.
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