The Old One And The Sea by The Storyteller (the little red hen read aloud txt) 📖

News Alert 5.04.2011

"Sea turtles continue to wash ashore along the Gulf, forcing the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to scramble and figure out what is causing the spike. Last week, the Natural Resources Defense Council and The Huffington Post were first to publish blogs about the sea turtle deaths in Mississippi. Since then, the national media picked up the story. Last Friday, NMFS released a statement with some details about its investigation:

In the past few weeks, we've seen an increase in turtle strandings in the northern Gulf, primarily in Mississippi. The spring time is the typical time when turtle strandings in this region begin to increase, but the sharp increases in recent days are of concern to us….NOAA Fisheries is in contact with the states of MS and LA regarding current trawl and other fishery activity that can result in turtle by catch and mortality. In addition, tests will be done for biotoxins, such as those from harmful algae blooms, which are common in the Gulf. …All causes of death, including petroleum, will be investigated when possible based on decomposition. During a necropsy, the full GI tract is examined for product or evidence of oil ingestion. Additionally, samples are taken for PAH analysis. In addition, all turtles are being carefully examined for signs of external oiling."








DAY ONE

I open my eyes on a sandy shore, and they are all hazy. My whole body is sore and burning in a way I never believed is possible. I need to go back to the water, this beach is too bright for me. And the smell, this penetrating stench is burning my lungs. What IS this horrible smell all over me? I have to get out of here. Oh, but the pain...I can't. I'll rest here for a while, it's too painful now to move away.
I try to look around, to understand where I am and how I got here. The beach is bright, and dry, and smells of death. The death is a presence here; I sense it in the air, I feel it in the sand, and now I see it too, next to me, even if my eyesight is blurred. Another Old One laying on the ground, not far away. From the complete absence of communication I know she's dead. Her carapace is peeling away like a skin; I can't look at it. She made the Final Travel.

I'm sad, hurt and my own body is too heavy to carry it around. Maybe I'm about to make the Final Travel too. Maybe that's it. I'm old, and my fight is over. I close my eyes with effort, because they are filled with burning water, and decide to wait. Before I know it, I slip back into the silent darkness of unconsciousness.

"Daddy, look, another one! Wow, this one is really big!"
"Brian, don't get too closer, we don't know what kind of disease they may have."
"You think is dead too?"
"It seems so."
"Wow! And there, look! It's that a turtle too?"
"Yea, it's a turtle."
" Why it's so orange?"
" They paint them in orange so when the people from the Marine Institute come to pick them up, they could see them from far away."
"But why this one here is not painted?"
"Brian, you ask too many questions. Maybe it just landed not so long ago, so they didn't found it yet. Don't get any closer!"
"And what they do with the turtles after they pick them up?"
"They try to find out why they died, son."
The strange screams are bothering me, and the instinct to run away forces me to open my sore eyes.
"Daddy, look, it's alive! Look, it tries to move!"
"Brian, stop screaming, you scary the poor thing. God help us, it's still alive."
"It's hurt, Daddy?"
"I don't know. I don't see any wounds. It smells of oil though."
"But it's crying!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Brian. Turtles don't cry."
"But look, daddy, tears! Look!"
The screams are going on and on; the land creatures are dangerously close now and I still can't move this painful body of mine. My heart is flooded with panic.
Suddenly I feel lifted; every desperate move in search for a solid ground it awfully hurts every inch of my being. The world is spinning around, so I have no choice than to stop moving and wait. If that's the Final Travel, it can be any longer now. I'm ready for it. Even if those predators didn't ripped me to pieces yet, I know that this is the end. I'm trapped.

I must have passed out again, because I wake up in a strange place, and I don't remember how I got here either. My body hurts just as bad as before, but nobody is trying to eat me, so I don't think I'm on the Other Side yet. It smells awful; beside that burning stench now familiar, there are a lot of foreign smells I never met before. I try to catch the dear scent of the ocean, but I can't find it. There are walls enclosing me, and above them I can see a little piece of blue sky. What kind of world is that? I'm old, almost the oldest of my generation, and I know all that it is to know, but I've never heard of a place like this. Could this be the Other Side?

A curious head full of hair poke in the sky above me, snuffing with vigor. The land creatures are all stinking.
"Hey, I know you are awake in there, so don't pretend you're still sleeping."
Here is one predator that wants to talk before eating me.
"I am Sasha, this is my home, and if you have any mischievous intentions I have to tell you right now that you'll have to deal with me first. I will protect this home and the people in it with my life, and you don't scare me with your size or with that weird rock you carry on your back. And by the way, you are the strangest creature I ever saw. You smell like you've slept under Dylan's car."
I'm so confused that all I can think of is a place to hide. What is he talking about? What is "people"? Where am I?
"You also smell like a fish. Are you a fish? You're surely quiet like one."
Not so smart, my snuffing buddy up there, but that's good. Maybe I can dodge him. Maybe I'm not his kind of food; he's a small one anyway. I begin to slowly crawl toward the closest wall, fighting the pain and the dizziness, trying to get as far as I can from the noisy creature.
"And where you think you're going?" he starts again. "One single move and I promise I'll alarm everybody, you hear me? I knew you're up to something, and now I'm glad you didn't fool me."
I think about that. From some mysterious reasons the Sasha creature seems to be unable to come inside my walls, so I ignore him and keep crawling.
"I'm very suspicious about you," he continues thoughtfully. "I'll watch you day and night, because I'm the only one brave enough to stand up to you. So that you know and don't try any dirty tricks."
I finally get at the wall, which don't offer me much protection. There's nowhere to run. He watch me in silence for a while.
"You know they saved you from the beach?" the Sasha creature asks again. I don't know what "saving" is, but I know I want to go back to beach.
"They even went there now to bring some sea water for you, so you can swim in that old garden pool over there. I don't understand what's the big fuss about you; you don't seem to express any gratitude. Aren't you grateful they saved you?"
I keep quiet and he's not content with that.
"You see? Beside that, you seem well enough right here; why you need a pool?" I don't know what "pool" is either, so I wait, lost in confusion.
"They say you are sick, and need treatment. Are you sick?"
I close my eyes with resignation ; it's impossible to understand the land creatures.
"I am devoted to my masters. I'm a very good dog, that's what Dylan always tells me. If you would be devoted to them too, and swear on your life not to ever hurt them, maybe I could be your friend. I have many balls that we could play with, you know?"
I know nothing anymore, and I'm so far away from home.
Suddenly he starts searching and snuffing around my walls again.
"Here they are! They came back with your water. No dirty tricks, you hear me? I'm watching you. Boy, this is going to be fun!" And the Sasha creature disappear from sight as sudden as he appeared.

A new round of lifting and handling me follows; this time I truly feel ripped apart as they rub my painful, immobile legs. Maybe those weird creatures are feeding on my suffering? Drifting in and out of consciousness, I don't understand why I don't die yet. I see flashes of the ocean, the blue water encasing me with peace. I realize I will never find my mate again; he must be on his way to the Great Stream, swimming freely in the vastness of the sea. I will probably never find the ocean again.

When they finally release me on the ground, I feel like the life was completely drained out of me. I also realize that the awful burning smell has faded from my skin. I don't want to move anymore, I don't want to draw another painful breath. But there is a new smell, and a wave of hope fills my fearful heart. It's the sweet fragrance of the ocean, distorted and mixed with hundreds of other scents, but still real; and is calling me. I vaguely see water, so I thorn my body to move toward it. Oh no, how this can be? This water is DEAD! This is not my ocean; there are no waves, no undercurrents, no life swarming in it. I can't FEEL this water.

With my last strength I just dive to the bottom of it and remain there, empty of any feelings.

The night is already covering the world when I resurface. There is no movement around, except for a white, fluffy creature that waits for me. So this is the dog Sasha, the mighty protector. I sense no threat from him, but his airborne wagging tail still confuses me. And he is a really small animal, now that I can see him in his entirety.
"Boy, I was sure you are dead! That was a good one, I can tell you this. You know how long you've been under water?"
I'm not impressed with his enthusiasm. I've been thinking a lot while down there, and I made up my mind.
"You must be a though kind of fish, I guess."
I look at him.
"Well, fish or not, I'm still not afraid of you. And be sure that I am still watching you."
"I'm not a fish," I answer him slowly. "We live in the ocean, where we are called The Old Ones, but we can also live on the land for periods of time. We DON'T eat other living beings, and don't attack them unless we need to protect ourselves." I draw a deep breath, and my lungs are on fire. "I