The Beach

∨ The Beach ∧

30

Corals

Under the weight of two grapefruit-sized stones, I drifted down to the seabed and sat, cross-legged, on the sand. Then I rested the stones on my lap so I wouldn’t float back up again.

Around me were banks of coral, brightly coloured pagodas, melted and sprawling in the hot tropical waters. In the recesses of their fans, something recoiled at my presence. It was almost imperceptible – a slight ripple of light spreading across the colours. I gazed harder, trying to pinpoint the strange effect, but once the change had happened the corals looked no different to before.

A strange creature was lying in front of me. A name popped into my head – sea cucumber – but only because I’d heard that such things existed. It could have been a sea marrow for all I knew. The creature was just over a foot in length and about the thickness of my forearm, and at the end nearest to me it had a nest of tiny tentacles. Using a snapped finger from one of the fans, I gave it an exploratory poke. The cucumber didn’t move or flinch so, emboldened, I touched it with my own finger. It was the softest thing I’d ever felt. Only the barest sensation of resistance was offered by the silky flesh, and I pulled back for fear of tearing its skin.

‘Curiouser and curiouser,’ I thought, smiling. Holding my breath was getting me high. From the blood humming in my ears and the mounting pressure in my lungs, I guessed I had less than twenty seconds of air remaining.

I looked up. Six or seven feet above me, perched on an overhanging rock-shelf, I could see Keaty’s disembodied legs. He was swinging them gently like a kid in a high chair and had attracted the attention of a little blue fish. The fish was mainly interested in his ankles. Every time they swung near, it would dart forwards as if to take a bite, but stop abruptly an inch or so away. Then, as his ankles swung back, the fish would flick its fins and retreat, perhaps cursing itself for its lack of courage.

A cold trickle of water eased past the hollow of my temples. With my head pointed upwards, the trapped air was pulling the mask away from my face. I looked down quickly, pushing at the glass to re-establish the seal, but it was no use. Too much water had worked its way in. I rolled the stones off my lap and let myself float back to the surface.

On impulse, I nipped Keaty’s ankle as I passed it by, using my bunched fingernails like a row of teeth.

♦

‘What did you do that for?’

I rubbed away the itch from where the mask had been gripping my face. Keaty was rubbing his ankle.

‘There was this little fish,’ I began, then started laughing.

‘What little fish?’

‘It wanted to bite you but didn’t have the nerve.’

Keaty shook his head. ‘I thought it was a shark.’

‘There’s sharks here?’

‘Millions.’ He jabbed a finger at the cliffs behind him, indicating the open sea, then shook his head again. ‘You made me jump.’

‘Sorry.’

I hauled myself out of the water and sat next to Keaty on the rock-shelf. ‘It’s amazing down there. It would be so good to have aqualungs or something. A minute isn’t really long enough.’

‘Or a hose-pipe,’ Keaty said. He pulled a plastic film carton from his pocket. Inside were loose Rizlas and grass. ‘I went to Ujung Kulon two years ago. You been there?’

‘Charita.’

‘Well, in Ujung Kulon there were some corals and these guys there used a hose-pipe. You could stay under for a while, but you couldn’t really move around. Still…’

‘I don’t suppose we’ve got a hose-pipe here?’

‘Nope.’

I waited while Keaty finished rolling the joint.

‘…So you’ve done a lot of travelling.’

‘Sure. Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, Guatemala, Columbia, Turkey, India and Nepal. Oh, also Pakistan. Sort of. I was in Karachi for three days on a stopover. You count that?’

‘Uh-uh.’

‘Me neither. How about you?’

I shrugged. ‘I’ve never done any of the Americas stuff, or Africa. Just around Asia really. Europe too, I suppose. How about Europe? Does Europe count?’

‘Not if you won’t count Karachi.’ He lit up. ‘Got a favourite?’

I thought for a couple of moments. ‘It’s a toss-up between Indonesia and the Philippines.’

‘And your worst?’

‘Probably China. I had a lousy time in China. I went for five days without talking to one person except when I ordered food in restaurants. Terrible food too.’

Keaty laughed. ‘My worst was Turkey. I was supposed to stay for two months but I left after two weeks.’

‘And the best?’

Keaty looked around, inhaling deeply, then passed me the joint. ‘Thailand. This place, I mean. It isn’t really Thailand, considering there’s no Thais, but…Yeah. This place.’

‘This place is unique…How long have you been here?’

‘Two years. Just over. I met Sal in Chiang Rai and we got friendly. Hiked around a bit. Then she told me about this place and took me along.’

I flicked the dead joint butt into the water. ‘Tell me about Daffy. No one talks about him.’

‘Yeah. People were shocked when they heard.’ Keaty scratched at his stubble thoughtfully. ‘I’m not a good person to ask. I barely knew the guy. He was a bit distant, to me anyway. I mean, I knew who he was, but we didn’t talk much.’

‘So who was he?’

‘Are you kidding?’

‘No. Like I said, nobody mentions him, so…’

Keaty frowned. ‘You haven’t seen the tree yet? The tree by the waterfall?’

‘…I don’t think so.’

‘Shit! You don’t know anything, do you, Rich? You’ve been here, what? A month?’

‘Just over.’

‘Man.’ Keaty smiled, ‘I’ll take you to the tree tomorrow. Then you’ll see.’

‘How about now?’

‘I want to swim – Especially now I’m stoned. And it’s my turn with the mask.’

‘I’d really like to…’

Keaty slipped into the water. ‘Tomorrow. What’s the hurry? You waited four weeks.’ He snapped the strap tight over the back of his head and ducked under; end of discussion.

‘OK,’ I said to the flat water, allowing dope and beach life to cloud my curiosity. ‘Tomorrow then.’

On my next turn with Gregorio’s mask I looked out for any shifting colours in the corals, but the strange effect refused to repeat itself. The coral dwellers were still hidden in their pagoda homes. Either that, or my presence no longer scared them.