Once upon a Saturday

SULOCHANA SANTHOSH is a young and inspired writer who reminds us of the need to care for our ocean and the environment in general. What are you doing to make a difference?

Saturdays are days meant for sleeping in. Lazing around. Days where you eat your favorite breakfast in bed (hopefully), not days where you wake up at 5 a.m. and participate in a beach clean-up.

Hi! I’m River and I’m 12 years old. My family runs Save the Seas Campaign. Boring! I know! And yes, my name is actually River. My older sister’s name is even worse (according to me). It’s Ocean. The strange thing is, she actually likes her name. No, she’s not a weirdo, she’s a people-pleaser. Lately, she’s been obsessed with saving the seas and whatnot. My parents were so excited when she announced she was going to help them with their campaign this year that they decided this Saturday beach clean-up would be a celebration to welcome her into the campaign.

Anyway, fast forward to “B-day” (Get it? Beach-day, never mind). It was a tug-of-war from the get-go. I absolutely refused to get up, and my parents left Ocean, their commander-in-chief, to wage this battle. All I can say is that it was 5 a.m., and she should have expected she wouldn’t win. Once I was finally up, our parents made us walk to the beach as a good warm up. Can you believe it?

Now came the actual war. The second we reached the beach, I told my parents that I would be working alone in a far-away corner. They tried to get us all to work together, but they soon realized they were fighting a losing battle and gave up. Once I was in my corner of the beach, I thought to myself, “Great! Now I can just fool around in the water instead of cleaning the beach.”

As I got into the cool water, however, I noticed something, a seahorse stuck in a plastic bag. At that moment, I felt a pang of guilt. I knew I couldn’t let the poor thing suffer and had to help somehow. So, I swam under the bag, undid the knot, and set the seahorse free.

As I turned to leave, I heard a squeaky, high-pitched voice say, “Thank you, that was kind. People like you are the only reason I haven’t given up on humanity yet.” 
I nearly jumped out of my skin as I stammered, “Y-you c-can t-talk?” 
The seahorse just looked at me, disappointed, as he sighed, “Of course I can talk. I always knew humans were ignorant creatures.”

Still barely understanding what was going on, I asked him, “Wait please. Was the sea always this polluted?”
“Well, the noticeable pollution of the seas started around the late 1400s all over the world, and although there were protests by many people, on and off, it was only recognized as an actual threat around the 1960s and the 1970s.”
“And is this the case all over the world?”
“Yes, as runoff and whale hunting are the water pollution threats from Asia, ghastly oil spills are mostly from the Middle Eastern countries and the Americas. As for excessive fishing, littering, and garbage dumping, well, all of you are to blame for it.”

“Oh! I sincerely apologize on behalf of everyone. What can we do to help?”
“Seas are the birthplace of all ecosystems as life originated here. So, by saving them, we are essentially saving ourselves. The good part is, lots of people have started to realize that our seas need saving. So, if we all come together to save our seas, there is still hope for the future.”

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“River, get out of bed! We’re going to be late!” 
Wait, what? “Didn’t we just come back from the beach clean-up?” I asked befuddled.
“What? River, we’re going to be really late if you don’t get up asap!” 
I jumped out of bed and started getting ready. “All right, all right, I’m up.”

Ah, so was that all a dream?

“River, this is the most energetic I’ve ever seen you,” joked the commander-in-chief, Ocean. Today wasn’t going to be a war.

As I was thinking about my dream, I was left with this thought:

The magnificent, glistening sea,
Infinite in wisdom and beauty,
Through its abundance and variety,
Never stops giving,
Giving us all she has,
So, tell me, when will we give back?
Oh, mother sea, I bow down to you
With gratitude, humility, and apologies