Michael Canzona

  In a time not that long ago,

when the skies were often clear and bright

and the waters were calm and full of beautiful mysterious sounds.

great fish large and small swam free in the boundless oceans called the great waters.

Many kinds of fish and ocean life roamed freely in the great waters in that time. The great waters were boundless and welcomed countless specie that called it home.  

And it came to be that a very special shark, the color gold was born into the deep free waters.  His was a story with many twists and turns, happy and sad.

There had never been a golden shark before that any of the other sharks could remember or heard stories of. His parents were confused and embarrassed that their son was different.  The other sharks kept their distance at first, but with time they learned they had nothing to fear. But instead of kindness and friendship, the many others would tease the golden shark as he grew from child to adult.  The golden shark was beautiful and fast, but because he was different, he was treated unkindly.

Yes, the golden shark was fast. Faster than any other fish ever! Even the speedy dolphins couldn’t match his speed and grace. He would fly through the waters like the eagles above would fly in the bluest sky. No other could match his speed, so when the other sharks wanted to tease him or say mean things he would swim away. 

As the years passed and the Golden Shark grew stronger and stronger, he would swim farther and farther from places familiar to him.  One day, a human fishing in the early evening saw a flash of gold bolt past him in the waters below. The speed and force of the streak of gold below him made his boat sway in the ripples of its speed. He wondered what magical creature had just passed him and his curiosity led him to hunt further in the night and days and weeks to come to find the magical mysterious fish that he had come upon so unexpectedly.

As the human hunted many weeks to find the golden shark, his imagination gave him many ideas of what he would do when he finally found his ocean prey. Should he try to trap it, or in some other way catch the fish? How could he catch it? What would he do with the beast if he did catch it? What was it? Was it a fish or something else mysterious and mean? 

He spent much of his time during the day and dreams at night wondering and imagining such possibilities. His passion turned into obsession. It wasn’t long before the human spent all waking moments hunting for the golden streak in the waters of blue, and all sleeping moments dreaming of his quest. 

Finally, under the night sky of a late summer day he felt something below his boat. A strong forceful wave came first, the golden finned wonder passing by him in the blink of an eye leaving behind a powerful sway of the waves and the silence broken as the waves crashed down around him.

The golden shark swept pass him, but the human caught a glimpse of fins, big strong golden fins. Now he knew he was hunting a golden fish bigger than most and faster than any. Probably a great shark. His mind was racing with ideas and excitement. Now he knew what he was seeing, and he started to make plans to trap and capture the magnificent beast of the great waters. He imagined riches and fame as the human that captured the golden shark!

Over time, the human figured out the patters of the great golden shark. Places he liked to swim and places he could be found at different times of the day. He started to bait him with foods he knew he loved so he would grow more comfortable around his boat. Since the golden shark was still bullied by the other sharks for his different look and ways, the treats from the human made him feel good and curious and safe. Little did he know that the human was far from kind and preparing to take him from all that was good and familiar. 

In the town near his home was an aquarium that kept many beautiful species of the great waters for humans to see.  It was a fun place for humans to visit but very sad for the creatures of the waters.  There were dolphins, and whales, amazing tortoises, seals and countless colorful fish of many species. There was one thing all the creatures of the great water had in common at the aquarium. All were sad and afraid, each and every day. They all missed the great waters with its endless sounds and space. All were lonely for their families and the music of the deep waters only the creatures that lived there could hear.

The human knew he couldn’t capture the golden shark by himself. His speed and strength would require the efforts of many. He visited the owners of the aquarium and shared his story of the great golden shark. The owners imagined all the money they could get if they had such a rare creature for others to pay to see.  Their eyes grew big with greed. But first, they had to catch the golden wonder of the great waters. 

During these times the Golden Shark was growing stronger and swimming faster than ever before.  His parent had come to love him deeply, but worried for their beautiful son and how difficult his life would be.  To be different can be a difficult road to walk.  They wanted happiness and purpose for him above all else but worried his rare beauty and speed would always plague him as a freak or oddity to other sharks and fish of the great waters. The Golden shark learned to be alone at an early age. Unfortunately, a skill that would serve him later as his captive life lurked beyond the only horizon that he had ever known.

The humans were familiar setting traps for large creatures from the great waters. They had trapped whales and dolphins and a few big sharks.  They first set out foods in the area they planned to capture the golden one, so that he had reason to visit the waters where the trap would be.  At first the strong nets were set in a way that the Golden Shark could swim past them so that he would not be afraid of the area, just drawn to the bait they would set out.  The Golden Shark had a keen sense of smell so he quickly learned to visit the area because of the tempting smells he would find there.

This pattern continued for a few weeks as the Golden Shark became familiar and comfortable with the area.  Next, the humans set up a very large pen with the food inside that the golden one would have to enter to find the familiar foods set out for him.  The pen was designed so that at some point a door would slam shut not allowing the golden creature to get out.  The pen would then be pulled to the surface of the great waters and the shark taken to the aquarium where a new large enclosure had been built with glass walls so that the other humans could come to see the rare and beautiful Golden Shark from inside. 

Finally, after many months of preparations and patience, the humans felt their prey was comfortable enough with the pen to makes their move.  On a breezy evening in the late of summer as the quarter moon started its journey thru the night, some human divers swam to the deep of the great waters where the trap was set to capture their golden treasure.  Before the deep dark of the night had set in, the humans could feel the rush of waves as the Golden Shark made his way to his familiar feast set out for him. He was enjoying the beautiful late evening without any reason to fear or suspect the evil of the humans in their pursuit of wealth.  The Golden Shark entered the trap, like he had so many other times, but on this fateful night as he began to eat the foods set out for him, the door of the trap slammed shut with a BOOM that could be heard miles and miles away.  The Golden Shark had been caught.  

In the dark of the night, where The Golden Sharks family lived, the loud boom of the trap door closing could be heard. The wondrous creatures there were startled and feared the thunderous noise. The Golden Shark’s mother could feel something deep inside her that said something bad had happened. She didn’t know what, but she knew deep in her heart that something very bad had just happened. Her thoughts immediately rushed to her golden child. 

The Golden Shark was trapped in a pen no bigger than a small swimming pool. He could not turn around. He could not move.  The humans in the waters with him quickly covered the trap with big tarps all around. He could see nothing. He had no idea what was happening to him. Imagine, being trapped in a cage of metal with no power to change that, when all he had known his whole life was the freedom of the great waters. Miles and miles to swim faster that any fish ever had.  Now trapped without any power at all.  Fear came soon, and stayed with him for a long, long time. 

Silence, darkness and fear became the only companions that the Golden shark would know until his slow journey to the human’s aquarium was complete. Without room to move, his powerful body was cold and filled with pain. He was so scared he didn’t feel hunger or thirst.  His fins grew weak in just a few days. His heart was so broken. He became numb and incredibly sad.  

He had no experience with humans before he was captured. They smelled of fear. They were not like the creatures of the great waters.  Their power was not in their spirit or strength, but in their ability to control. They had many ways about them that he didn’t understand.  He was familiar with other creatures being surprised by the way he looked but the ways of the humans was something different. Since his trap was covered with tarps he could only listen and smell them, and he knew they were not a part of the great waters.  Their ways did not carry the spirit of the waters. Over the next few days, he could feel them about him as they prepared to take him away to places and experiences, he could never had never imagined. He was so lonely. Lonely for his parents, the waters and the beautiful sounds of the great waters. There was no way to understand what was happening to him.

The task of the humans to transport the Golden Shark was very difficult.  The size of the animal was larger and heavier than expected.  The cables to bring the trap to the surface were attached to a boat motor pully.  The going was slow.  The plan was to pull the trap to the surface then quickly pull it to the aquarium that had a gate from the great waters into the aquarium tank built to be the home of the golden one. The humans caught their prey far away from their aquariums in the deep part of the great waters. A part of the great waters big and deep enough to allow the Golden Shark to swim with glorious speed.    It took the crew on the boat two days and two nights to bring the beautiful creature to the place where he would stay.  The humans would put some food in the trap, but the Golden Shark had no will to eat. He was becoming weak.  Weak in his body and weak in his heart. 

Part of the tank was built of glass below so humans could watch the beast swimming. The entire size of the tank built to hold the Golden Shark was about the same size as a little league softball field. Although not tiny, the enclosure was way too small for a fish as big and fast as the Golden Shark. It would become his prison cell for many moons to come. 

Finally, the ship with the golden one in tow had made it to their destination.  The trap was set loose in the new enclosure. It sank to the bottom where the humans with pretend fins worked to open it so the shark could get out, but first they gave the golden one a shot under his skin to make him sleepy so he wouldn’t go crazy trying to swim out of his holding tank.  At first it was hard for the shark to move or swim at all because his body was weak from the many days not being able to move.  It was like he was in a scary dream in this place so very different from the great waters he knew. 

The humans were awe struck by the Golden Sharks’ beauty and size.  He was an amazing one-of-a-kind fish.  Of course, they could not appreciate his speed because he made little movement because of his weakness and the drugs they gave him to keep him from getting too excited. The enclosure was too small for him to build speed anyway. Two female humans , both very experienced with the care of whales and dolphins and other large specie from the great waters were assigned the task of caring for the captive creature and learning his needs.   

In a small village near the great waters and not far from where the golden one was held captive, was a boy. His family had lived near and with the endless waters for many generations.  His father was a fisherman, like his father before him.  His mother a gentle soul that cared for her children and husband in the traditions of generations that came before them. In many ways, the boy child took after his mother.  He was quiet and liked to be alone near the great waters that gave him all that he wanted or needed. He too had a kind and gentle nature. He loved the sand below him and the waters that surrounded him. 

The great waters gave him endless melodies in the whisper of the winds and the crack of thunder or roar of the waves hitting the rocks. As the stars appeared in the evening sky and the moon ever bright in the night, he found comfort and peace. The sway of the great waters taught him the lessons he needed to learn.  It was when he was a young child that the stories of a grand, golden shark began to make their way around his village and those beyond. Whenever he heard word of the Golden Shark his eyes would light up and his whole body quivered with excitement. He dreamed that one day he would meet such a magnificent creature.   

The humans that had hunted and captured the Golden Shark were anxious for the mighty creature to settle into his enclosure so that they could begin to display him for others to see.  They imagined riches made by showing him to other humans that would come from far and near and pay money for a glimpse of such a beautiful creature from the great waters. It had cost a lot to trap and capture the beast. Even more money to build an enclosure they hoped could hold the golden one. But things would take time. More time than they had anticipated. Soon they began to cut corners so that less money would be spent.  It wasn’t until they had captured the Golden Shark that they realized how big and strong he actually was. Modifications had to be made beyond what they had originally planned because of his size. In a hurry to complete the modifications, they tried to look for the cheapest ways to do the work.  Their interests were only on making lots of money, not the well-being of the magical shark they had stolen from the endless waters he knew as his home. 

For the first month or so the humans kept the Golden Shark on drugs to make him sleepy and not interested in much of anything. He started to slowly swim a bit and learned that his food was coming from the humans instead of the great waters. He ate a bit, but it all was a drowsy dream he couldn’t wait to wake up from. 

Slowly, the humans started to give less drugs each day and carried the food for the golden one in a small boat they drove around while throwing bits of food forcing him to swim a bit. Ever so slowly, the fins of the Golden Shark grew stronger, and his senses started to come back to him. But it was with the deepest sadness for the life in the great waters that had been taken from him.

The boy from the village dreamed to be a fisherman, like his father and grandfather before him.  He watched with constant curiosity the movement of the great waters during different times of the day. He watched the fishing boats come and go. Swaying in a dance with the waters. His father took him along occasionally and from those trips he learned the scape of the waters.  He learned at an early age to listen to the great waters and learn from what he heard.  

With his fathers’ help, he restored a small but sturdy vessel for the seas that had washed ashore. After many hours of labor, the boat was water worthy and the boy set about to master the ways of the waters in his boat. It was a freedom like he had never felt before and would love all the days of his life.  His parents watched with pride as he became one with the great waters. The boundless sea embraced him like a parent does a child.

Over time, The Golden Shark adapted as best he could to his confinement.  He had no interest in the humans around him. His caretakers were different that those that trapped him, but he found no comfort in their attempts to earn his trust.  His enclosure was too small to allow him to swim fast like he wanted.  There were many stories of his speed told by the greedy human that orchestrated his capture but the aquarium that was his prison was too small for that.  He was confused by the glass walls at the bottom that separated him from the humans watching from the other side. There was something beyond the glass he could feel but did not know. The others on the other side didn’t understand the ways of the deep, deep sea. His sadness grew deeper and deeper with each passing day.

The humans worried his sadness would not be entertaining to those staring from the other side. His loneliness was deep inside his spirit, deep inside his heart. The last thing the humans wanted was for people to leave feeling bad for the Golden Shark. What could they do?

The caretakers thought another shark to keep him company might help chase the blues away. The greedy humans set about to capture another creature of the seas to keep the great one company. Because of the limited size of the enclosure, it was determined that a small young female would be the best choice.  Such a capture would be much easier than catching the golden one.   

They would call the small female shark Little One. It seemed to suite her. She was as small as the golden one was big.  Because the aquarium was barely big enough for the golden prize, the humans felt the space could only hold a much smaller shark.  She was caught with little effort and brought to the holding tank without any problems.  The little maiden was very young and terrified by what the humans were doing to her.  Like the golden one, she was given drugs to make her drowsy for a while until she could become familiar with her new surroundings.

The Golden Shark was certainly surprised by the addition to his space.  He too was very young, and his new aqua mate was afraid of him as well as the humans.  She had never seen a shark like the golden one.  They stayed in different parts of the waters they shared for a couple weeks.  The caretakers gradually started to feed them in the same place, and they eventually came to trust each other.  Although both carried the deepest sadness in their hearts because of their captivity.  With time, they found much comfort in each other’s company but always with a constant sadness that they were taken from their home and way of life in the great waters.

The story of the golden one spread far and near. More and more humans came to see them as word of the rare shark from the deepest parts of the great waters travelled to the villages and beyond.  At times, the golden one could speed up a bit as he learned the boundaries of their confinement, but nothing like the remarkable speed he had come to know in the great waters before his captivity. The humans that came to see him and his little mate were awed by his majesty and beauty. His caretakers took the best care they could, but the captivity was very stressful and both sharks suffered from weakness and poor health.  The great waters  was the only place where they could find what they needed to live a good life.  

The Golden Shark had been held hostage to the human’s greed for many moons before the boy from the village finally found his way to see him.  He had to find work and save money to pay the humans at the aquarium to get in and he had to pay for the voyage from his village to get there and return home.  His love of the great waters and his excitement to see one of the wonders of the seas held his imagination until the day of his visit. He couldn’t sleep the night before his journey because of his excitement. 

The brief voyage to his destination was full of new sights and sounds. His curiosity was bursting.  The aquarium was not very far from his village, and he studied closely the directions both coming and going in case he ever had reason to make the journey on his own.  His boat was small but heavy and strong.  He knew it could make the trip without any trouble. 

Finally, the time had come to see the majestic golden shark.  After standing in line with others each waiting their turn, he was allowed into the viewing area with strong glass separating the humans from the sharks. It was weird seeing the place where they kept the sharks.  It seemed like a cage the songbird was captive in, but a cage for sharks.  A few minutes past before he saw a giant golden creature shining from the sun coming near. He squinted to see as the sun was blinding his sight.  And then he saw him. 

The first impression of the kind young boy from the village was awe at the size and incredible beauty of the creature before him.  He had never seen anything like it.  He was stunned.  But his heart quickly turned from excitement to sadness, and he wasn’t sure why. He spent hours gazing at the golden one and his little companion. With each passing moment, his heart became heavier and heavier with sadness for the most beautiful creature of the great waters that he would ever see.  In those moments, his life would change forever.  He knew in those first moments with the golden one and his mate, that his purpose in life was to return the Golden Shark and the little one to the great waters. 

When the kind boy from the village got home, he laid awake many nights trying to figure out a way to help the stolen sharks escape back to the great waters.  He spent many hours on his boat listening to the many sounds of the waters and hoping it would help  him understand his purpose.  He told his mother of the golden shark and how sad it made him to see the greatest creature of the seas help captive. His mother new the kindness of her sons’ heart and how connected he was to the ways of the great waters.  She tried to comfort him but knew deep inside his story was only beginning. 

He had become masterful navigating his way about the waters on his boat.  He found a way to the aquarium in his study vessel and discovered a well-hidden place off the waters to anchor his boat so he could walk to the place the sharks were held.  He studied the facility many times not sure what he was looking for but looking all the same. 

The greedy humans had taken many short cuts in the construction of the holding tank in an effort to hurry the completion so that they could begin to make money from others wanting to see the magnificent creature of the waters.  The greedy humans had not been worried about anyone trying to take the creatures, so they had done little to secure the holding tank.  The boy found a place along a fence where the wire was pulling away from the pole it was attached to. The place was hidden from view from the main buildings, and he slowly worked over several visits to separate the wire from the pole and create a small space he could crawl through. He would reattach the wire to the pole after making his secret entry so that the greedy humans would not know that he was using it. He wandered carefully about the aquarium making sure no one saw him until he finally found a way to the place the sharks were kept. 

The prison for the magnificent shark and his companion was a brief trip from his village and he became very good at making the voyage and getting back home without worrying his parents about his absence.  As time passed and he grew older the kind boy from the village became very familiar with the ways of the great waters and found peace of mind and comfort when on the waters on his small but sturdy boat.  Although there was school and work fishing with his father and helping his mother as she needed, he always found time to sneak into the aquarium and learn the ways of the Golden Shark and Little One.

With time, the Golden Shark became familiar with the occasional visits from the boy. He noticed that he came when the other humans were not around.  He was cautious because humans had proven to be something to avoid. To fear. He kept the Little One away from the boy and watched him very carefully. Yet, with time, his caution started to relax. The boy was different than the other humans. There was something about him that the golden one found calming.  The kind boy from the village didn’t seem to want anything.  He would just sit at the edge of the aquarium and gaze over the horizon of the great waters until the sun began to fade. That was his clue to go. The Golden Shark found himself feeling sad when the boy left and almost happy when he came back. 

Many passings of the full moon and seasons came and went and began again. When the red harvest moon came the village would celebrate the great waters with feasts and songs of gratitude.  It was a time of year when the great waters danced with big waves crashing like thunder.  The winds could blow strong telling of the colder season coming.  The moon was like a calendar for the people of the villages near the great waters.  It told of beginnings and ends. When to plant the seeds and when to harvest the foods. When to work and when to rest.  It had been that way as long as could be remembered. It was the way the kind boy from the village listened and learned, as the moon guided him.  

The Golden Shark and the Little One knew the power of the moon as well, but their captivity took from them the spirit of the seasons and the lunar lessons that guided them when they were in the great waters. They had become numb from their captivity and the spirit that had been taken from them.  Yet, the power of the great waters and the comfort of the majestic moon that travelled past them each night gave them comfort though their situation was bleak and without hope.  

It was under the brilliant glow of a full moon in late summer casting silver hues over the waters that the boy heard from the lessons in the winds a way to bring the hostages of the humans back to the great waters. The boy and the Golden Shark must learn a way to talk to each other, to hear each other. They needed to learn to communicate.  But how?  The boy knew the sharks felt safe around him. He knew that they would want to find a way to communicate with him as well.  

When next the boy from the village visited the captive sharks it was in the cool of the evening as the waves of the great waters  swayed back and forth  like in a dance. A calm rhythm back and forth.  As the boy sat at the edge of the aquarium the majestic golden shark idled closely nearby with the little one not far away. In a magic moment, their eyes met. In that moment, they connected in a way that hadn’t happened before. As they gazed into each other’s eyes they found a place between them that said more than words alone.  In the whispering silence, they had connected. 

All the while the kind boy was imagining an escape.  The aquarium was poorly constructed in a hurry and no thought was given to having a roof on the enclosure. And that was it! The sharks would have to learn how to jump out of their prison and back into the great waters. He would have to find a way to teach the sharks to jump high enough to clear the wall separating them from the waters of freedom and all that they knew to be good and true. But how?

The numerous beautiful creatures in nature have many ways to speak with each other in languages humans cannot hear or understand.  For many species, their survival depends on their ability to connect with other members of their specie, and maybe other species as well. Humans can form close relationships with animals such as dogs or cats or horses. But the creatures of the wild have their own ways.   

Having eye contact was a start. Then he began using his arms to teach the sharks which direction to swim.  The aquarium provided no stimulation for the two sharks.  They were bored and found the lessons from the boy as something to look forward to. As the boy moved his arm to the right eventually so to would the sharks move to the right. If his left arm, then that was the direction they would move. From those early movements many things evolved and fairly quickly the Golden Shark and Little One were learning the skills they would need to escape. 

The kind boy from the village learned that the great waters were most powerful under a full moon. It was then that the waves were the highest and strongest and the breeze was full and strong as well. He knew the energy of the great waters under of a full moon would be the best conditions for an escape. The captive sharks would have to learn to jump. High powerful jumps that would carry them over the tall wall separating them from the waters beyond.  The waters of their families and their way of life.

The mother of the boy started to notice how often her son would be gone from their home when evening turned to night. She watched for him one evening and saw him leave on his boat and return later as the moon passed through the sky. Her son had been quiet and had been spending more time that usual alone.  She knew he loved being with the great waters, but there was something else going on. She could feel it.  

One night as the boy prepared to leave, she asked him where he was going.  He told her of his mission to help the sharks held at the aquarium escape back to the great waters and their families.  He was truthful with his mother. That itself filled her with pride and love for her son.  She understood the ways of the waters that gave them all that they had or wanted.  She too realized that the Golden Shark was a special spirit meant to be in the deepest parts of the seas far from humans. Although the boy was still young, she trusted his purpose and realized what he was doing was very important.  With all of her love she blessed her son’s quest and wished him success. As the full moon of early summer rose high into the night sky, she turned to go back to her cabin as her son set afloat on the great waters, his shadow captured on the waters by the bright silver light of the majestic moon. 

Time with The Golden Shark and Little One was the happiest part of the kind boy’s day.  He loved them like the waters, and his family.  He started to feel an urgency to get the job done.  He worried that the greedy humans would become suspicious. Maybe someone would see him roaming about in the shadows of the night.  Maybe someone would follow him or see his boat.  It was time for the sharks to learn to jump out of the waters that held them.

The kind boy found that learning to communicate with others was just a matter of trying. A person’s eyes can speak without saying a word.  A touch, an expression the way we move can all be like words spoken.  The urgency the boy felt had to be communicated to the golden one.  Sharks don’t unusually jump out of the water. The Golden One had never jumped out of the water. He was more of a speed kind of spirit. The boy had an idea.

One night as the moon was new, just a crescent glow on the horizon, the boy filled his boat with fish he had captures that day. He had two heavy bags of freshly caught fish he took to the aquarium that evening.  It took him a long time because the bags were heavy. He brought one, then came back to bring the second to the cage of water where the two sharks were kept. 

The Golden Shark and Little One were very excited to see the boy and could smell the treats he had brought with him.  The boy shared a few morsels with them, and then he waved the fish bait at the Golden Shark but threw it very high into the evening sky instead. The golden one was confused. As the boy threw the fish high into the sky, he would throw his hands up high as well, and jump. It looked like some silly game that made no sense.  

If sharks could laugh, they would have been laughing at the kind boy from the village.  Under the moon of the night sky, throwing his arms high while he jumped throwing the fish bait as high as he could.  What a sight!  Every once in a while, the boy would throw some bait into the water just to keep the sharks interested.  Then he would move his arms to one side then the other and the sharks knew to move one way or the other.  Then he would throw his arms to the sky, over and over again. It was like he was in a dance orchestrated by the great waters and the night sky.

It was Little One that got the idea first.  As the boy moved his arm to the right or left, she would move that direction. Then once, the boy made his arm reach to the sky and without even thinking about it, she flew out of the water and came down with a splash! The golden one and the boy were both startled and just stayed still in wonder for what the little shark had just done. It was a magical moment for all.  The golden one hadn’t felt such energy since he had been in captivity.  Little One felt utter joy.  She liked splashing down and dancing in the waters when she landed.  It was fun.  The boy celebrated with a dance of his own feeling the joy in the moment.  

The Golden Shark’s would need more room, and a running start to jump because of his size.  The boy ran to the end of the water and the sharks followed.  When everyone was at the end, the boy ran with all his speed toward the opposite end and about halfway he jumped as if he could reach the top of the sky.  The Golden Shark figured it out after a few tries by the kind boy.  He didn’t even think about it, he just jumped. His natural, incredible speed created a great lift that carried him high into the sky and created a thunderous BOOM when he splashed down. It was the closest he felt to the power of the great waters in a long, long time. 

The hardest part came last. How was the kind boy going to teach the sharks to jump out of the pen and into the great waters beyond? He had to think about that for a while but for now, in the evenings when all was still the boy would guide his sturdy boat to the prison of water and help the sharks get use to jumping. In time, Little One and the Golden Sark became strong jumpers feeling like birds for a moment while they lifted out of the water. Each time with more and more confidence and skill.

The boy from the village spent much time on his boat contemplating the remaining challenge, jumping out of the aquarium and into the arms of the great waters beyond.  He learned there was strong energy on the waters under the light of a full moon.  More than any other time of the month. The waves and winds were strongest under a full moon. Under one such night, in the early fall as the summer fades away, for no good reason that he could remember, the boy let out a squeal at the top of his lungs.  In later years he remembered the sound as his ‘Ode to a Full Moon at Harvest’. That was it! The great waters and the powerful full moon had given him the last piece in his puzzle to free the captive sharks. He would teach them to follow the sound of his scream in the night, and swim, and later jump to where the sound was coming from. 

He believed with all his heart that the great waters and full moon had given him the power to free the captive sharks. The kind boy always came to visit the sharks as the moon was high in the sky.  Before he would sneak into the place of captivity, he would guide his boat near the holding tank.  From there he would fill his lungs and call loud and strong to the Golden One with all his power. Then he would throw a fish or two over the wall for the sharks to know it was him. He would then hurry to the aquarium to see his friends of the waters.  Now, instead of just hand gestures and jumping, he added his call to the night so the sharks could learn that was part of the command. Over time and many moons, The Golden One and Little One learned to jump as he sang his command. That was all they needed. When they heard him call, they would jump.

More and more, he would call to the sharks from the great waters to have them jump. And jump they did. Then, one night under the full red moon of harvest, the kind boy from the village closed his eyes and filled his lungs with air and sang to the heavens with all his might. His loud deep call was beautiful and filled the sharks with an intense energy. Without thinking about it, they gathered their speed and burst out of the water and into the arms of the great waters. The splash so powerful it almost knocked the boy out of his boat!  

It was like a dream, somehow not real.  After so long in captivity, there was also fear. The aquarium was all they had known for a long, long time. It was all overwhelming at first and the shy sharks jumped back into their aquarium because they just didn’t know what to think of it all. 

The kind boy was confused. He gave the sharks some fish he’d brought along to snack on and then headed back to his home.  Why did the sharks jump back into the aquarium? Why didn’t they want to return to the great waters?   Did they like their prison more than freedom?  

When he got home, his mother was waiting for him outside under the full moon. He told her what happened. He started to cry. His kind mother comforted him, and asked what it would be like if someone came and took him away from his home to a place unfamiliar.  He said he would be scared but the sharks knew the great waters so why would they be scared? His mother explained that it has been many, many moons since the sharks had been free. It’s not that they liked the aquarium, but it was all they had known for a long time. It had become safe even though it made them sad. She told him to be patient and the will of the great waters would come to be. His mom’s words were comforting. She helped him understand. It helped him and he trusted her words. 

Over the next few months, the boy continued to visit the Golden One and his companion at night when the moon was high in the sky. The sharks learned to jump into the great waters and swim a bit. Each night they would go a little further but when it began to make them nervous, they would turn and go back. The great waters slowly began to talk to them with sounds that brought back their memory.  The extra swimming was making them stronger each night. The boy knew it was only a matter of time before the great escape would happen.  But when?

It was under a full Christmas moon. There was a beautiful silence in the air as the kind boy from the village rowed his sturdy boat to the aquarium. It was a most beautiful night full of light from the proud moon above. The water was unusually calm. The spirit of kindness was in the air.  The glow of the night warmed the boy’s spirit and as he rowed his sturdy boat towards the aquarium, he was thankful for the many blessings from the great waters.  His home and the home of many wonderous creatures large and small.  

He approached his usual landing spot but wavered a little for some reason wanting to visit the waters a bit closer to the aquarium at a place where the moon could best be seen in all its’ glory.  He found within himself a wonderful song that he sang to the beautiful night. It was a glorious sound that lit up the night even more. 

As the Golden Shark and Little One heard his beautiful song to the night, they were filled with a strength they felt from the song.  Without thought they jumped. As they splashed down into the caress of the great waters, they swam with more freedom than they had before.  The power of the great waters could finally welcome them home.

They swam farther and farther, faster and faster.  They were home.  The kind boy could hear them as they jumped out of the water a couple times, and he knew they were gone. He sat quietly in his sturdy boat listening softly to the breeze and flow of the waters and he knew that the great waters had welcomed them back. He was sad in a way but much more grateful and happy that the sharks, his friends had made their way back to their true home.

As he came home that evening, his mother met him with soft tears on her face. Tears of pride and gratitude for her wonderful son and the amazing thing he had just done. They held each other in silence as the moon made its way across the sky. It was a beautiful, perfect night.

The greedy humans were quite shocked to find the aquarium empty the next day.  There was no explanation for the sharks not being there.  They were left with no answers to their questions. Through the years they searched the great waters far and wide without ever a clue as to what happened. Eventually, others lost interest in the aquarium, and it was abandoned a few years later.

Many years later, there was an old man of the village that loved to row his sturdy boat on the great waters when the moon was full.  The old man had been a respected teacher in his village. He had taught the village children the ways of life living in harmony with the great waters. His children had moved on to lives beyond the village by the seas. His kind mother and father had died as had his wife of many years. He spent most of his time alone and with his memories. 

Over the years, he had shared the legend of the Golden Shark with his students and his own children.  His hope was that his story would impress on them the magic and wonder of the great waters and the gifts and riches so bountiful deep within their waters.

This night was the full moon of Christmas. He swayed to the rhythm of the waters under the sliver moon as he rowed just a bit further out than he usually did. He could feel the waters begin to get restless. In an instant, he felt something powerful swim near him.  He turned and saw briefly something golden flash past him. A short distance later he saw a majestic golden creature jump out of the water as if it was trying to touch the moon. He could feel it splash making his boat sway from its power. After all these years the golden one had found him. He an old man as well but he could still swim with wondrous power. How could he still be alive? The magic of the great waters had been good to him.  He cried soft tears of joy and gratitude that the majestic creature had survived these many years later. Shortly after, more golden sharks jumped from the waters. The Golden Shark and Little One had made beautiful children. And jumpers too! 

He sat in silence for a long time as they swam away. While rowing back to his village, he was filled with joy and thanks for the moment the great waters had given him that night.  He would find much comfort in the lessons of the great waters and the magic of the Golden Shark all the remaining days of his life.