Night Dive - Hardcover

Something touches me from behind. A shark? I whirl around. It's Mom. I tell myself to calm down. Mom takes my hand and we start down the line.

Is that the noise of my air bubbles or my heart beating like a drum? My light shows up specks in the dark water as we make our way slowly down to the reef. The specks are plankton -- tiny creatures drifting through the water.

On day dives, I usually get very excited the minute I hit the water. I just love the feeling of being weightless, like an astronaut - a feeling half like a bird and half like a fish as I swim slowly over the reef or stand on my head.

But tonight I feel only fear. I can hardly tell up from down. The stick of glowing light on Mom's tank comforts me a little.

Suddenly pain shoots into my left ear. Nuts. I was so busy being scared that I forgot to relieve the pressure. I let go of Mom's hand, pinch my nose, and blow out. The pressure goes away.

I look up. The light hanging from the boat is a pale green hazy ball. I see the lights of the other divers below me. I aim mine in front of me. Dozens of tiny shrimplike creatures dance in the beam of the light, like moths around a candle. They are larvae, babies of sea animals. When I move my light, they go away. When I keep the light still, they come back. My fins touch the sandy bottom. It takes only one minute to go down thirty feet but it feels like ten minutes. I count lights. There are eight of us, including Jim. Jim said we would be able to see the moonlight. He was right. It shimmers on the surface of the water like a pool of light.