Adventures+of+the+Deep

In the town of Hanalei, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, Anna lived with her family and her close friend Anastasia, who were all big time surfers. Anna was a young girl, ten going on eleven. She spent her days with her close friend Anastasia, surfing in the glimmering, blue water, getting wrinkled like a prune. The feeling of lifting herself up onto the board, up into the breezy, crystal clear air, letting the water be her guide, and seeing the sparkling, sandy beach in her view, meant everything to her. The fact that every wave was different from the others always intrigued her. She dreaded the moment when she had to leave the soothing and adventurous waters of the ocean to accomplish the tasks that come with a normal girl’s life. This included satisfying her hunger, charging her mind with sleep, tidying her house, finishing school assignments, and many other jobs that she had to do every day. She always joked that when she finally died, Anastasia needed to put her on a raft and let her go free because to her, the ocean was pure freedom, more than any that could be granted on land.

However, Anna’s family and close friend Anastasia meant so much more to her in life than the ocean did any day. When she wasn’t on the thrilling waves of the ocean, she was creating a memorable life with her family. Her family was a blanket tightly stitched together. They were bonded together as a family. Anastasia was an inspiration to Anna in her life and kept her going with laughter and motivation. She supported her in the toughest times. Anna knew there would always be someone there behind her, following and supporting her throughout her life. She always knew she wouldn’t have been able to live, if they didn’t exist in her life.

It had been a shiny and bright day, almost too bright to bear, so Anna called Anastasia and told her that the day would be the greatest day of surfing they could ever have, depending on the waves. They packed up their gear and headed out to find the surfing spot with the best waves. Anna’s mom drove them around for quite awhile until they finally ended up going to Tunnels Beach, a well-known beach in Kauai. When it came to surfing, Anna and Anastasia were dare devils. They liked to surf waves that were recommended for surfers, who knew what they are doing and could take on more challenging waves. Tunnels Beach was one of these beaches. Anna and Anastasia had been surfing for many, many years and were pretty confident they knew what they were doing, so off they went to surf.

It had started out like any normal surfing day, wild and roaring with laughter and adventure. Nothing mysterious was in the air. Anna paddled out until she was far from the shore, then turned and used her arms to push herself up onto the board. She let the thrilling feeling of the water push her towards the shore. She felt as if was she soaring through the sky. When she finally reached close to shore, she was flabbergasted by what she saw. Her board finally beached on the bizarre shore. This wasn’t the normal shore she remembered and was used to at Tunnels Beach. Where was she and where had Anastasia gone? She assumed she must have ended up on the normal shore where they had started from. She was perplexed why she had ended up on that unusual shore and Anastasia hadn’t. She paced around for quite awhile and tried to think of some way she could possibly get back to Tunnels Beach. After quite some time of confusion and panic, she figured out a possibility that could work. She thought that to get back, she would most likely need to swim into the ocean all the way to the opposite side where she thought the beach was located.

However, Anna was extremely frightened by this idea and decided to rethink it. She was unsure what was under the ocean and was terrified she could die entering it. When she was surfing, she only got a glimpse of the water underneath because she was diving under a wave. She was aware of some living creatures, but she was positive she did not know all of the dangers waiting for her underwater. Just when she thought she was frightened enough, a giant wave crashed in and left the remains of a dead fish. Anna felt sick to her stomach but knew that this would probably be the only she could make it home to her family and Anastasia, who were also most likely concerned about her location.

She wasn’t as alone as she thought she was though. All of a sudden, out of the blues, a humongous, roaring mouth formed on the entire ocean and started communicating with her. Anna felt as if she could faint right there on the spot. She didn’t know what to say or think about this situation. The giant mouth slowly opened and explained, to her great astonishment, that her plan was well thought out. If she blew three bubbles in the water, he would come right away to assist her. He told her there was a magic seaweed she needed to eat that would allow her to live and breathe under water.

Anna calmed herself down and made the decision to go on the journey, understanding that it could mean death for her. She knew she would have help through it all which motivated her to keep going. She yearned to see her family and Anastasia and was confident that she would see them once more if she made it through this. With the ocean as her mentor, she started off on her journey.

She saw the glowing seaweed at her feet and picked it up. With disgust, she put the slimy plant in her mouth and swallowed it. To her surprise, she could breathe without holding her breath. She thanked the ocean and began her journey by starting at a moderate speed to cover distance, but not to wear herself out. She’s was swimming along, alert for anything that could be coming, when she bonked into a big, light blue and gray whale. He wasn’t the same as other whales though because he didn’t have a spout at the top of his head. Anna thought this was quite unusual. However, she found that he was innocent of danger or harm. He described to her his quest. He planned to go to the magical, but wicked Octopus King, living in his castle of jagged rocks. He would use one of the sharp stones to poke a hole into his skin to be used as a spout. He promised to carry her on his back if she would allow him to come along with her since she was going in the same direction as he was. She agreed, but asked why he had never gone before by himself. He replied to her that he was always too fearful and never could work up enough courage in himself to face the king. He was certain another person beside him would help him feel less frightened. Anna continued gliding on through her trip, now with another mate along side her to aide her as well.

It wasn’t long after they left, Anna riding on the back of the graceful whale, that a flash of shining, dark gray figures zipped past them. They both stumbled back in fright. Ten sharp-toothed sharks surrounded them in terror. The pod glared at them with monstrous eyes because to the sharks, they found their dinner. However, the two adventurers didn’t give up and allow the sharks to gobble them up. They shot out of the scene as fast as a bullet with the sharks, who were bolting with rage, shadowing behind them, closely on their tail. They managed to find a boulder standing straight up with a hole inside of it. Anna quickly ducked down. They scooted through as speedily as they could, barely making it by a few inches. The leader of the sharks lay, plumped inside of the rock, furious. Since he was their leader, the other sharks stayed behind him and waited for a command. However, he was out of breath from chasing their thought-to-be dinner. No command slipped from his mouth. The other sharks heaved their leader out of the rock and they all left to search for something else to eat that wouldn’t run away from them. Anna and the whale celebrated their great accomplishment and resumed their adventurous trek.

The two of them were gliding along when they saw a shiny, glimmering spectacle a few feet in front of them. They were bewildered at what it could possibly be. They floated over and examined it with great scrutiny. They concluded that the body wasn’t actually sparkling. Instead, it was radiantly glowing with brightness. It consisted of rough, bumpy skin and was in the shape of a star. They realized that the strange figure was a star fish. The only thing unusual about this one though, was that it didn’t contain any color like other starfish, it was completely white. The starfish explained that he was hopeful the Octopus King’s power could do the trick and help him. He would sneak into the castle and find a way to steal the king’s power without the king knowing. Then he would be able to enjoy his life being colorful. He promised them he could help point them toward the right direction if only they would let him come along. They pondered it for a minute or two, then finally agreed on it. Now with one more friend, they all continued swimming along.

All of a sudden, a black, charcoal powder came blasting into their faces. They all panicked in terror. Anna and the whale were lost in panic and didn’t have an idea of what to do. The starfish remembered his secret power: glowing. He quickly lighted himself up until finally, they could all see each other once more. They sincerely thanked the starfish for his compassionate deed and told him they all could have died without him. They continued with a great amount of gratitude in their hearts. A little after that adventure, they came across what they thought was a group of unusual rocks. The rocks started moving though. They found out it was a large group of turtles. The other turtles looked mostly alike. However, one stood out from the rest. This one was missing a tail. He told to them that he was born without one and was hoping he could obtain one by also stealing some of the king’s power. They said he could follow them if he also helped point them in the right direction. He agreed and thanked them for their kindness. With that, the four allies swam in the direction of the castle.

They were cruising along when they saw a sharp, spiky plant lying on the sand floor of the ocean. They halted with much curiosity in their eyes. They wondered what the mysterious plant could be. They were about to touch it and observe it when the body started rolling away! They figured out it wasn’t a plant at all. It was real living animal! It swiftly rolled backward then came rapidly speeding like a fire ball, right towards them. They screamed and attempted to flee, but the creature was too quick. With its sharp stabbers, it stabbed Anna in the leg. Anna remembered the mentor’s words and quickly blew three bubbles in the water. The ocean opened its mouth and told Anna to use the help of her friends. She cried for help because her pain blinded her, but the whale and starfish didn’t know how they could assist her and were too afraid of what was happening. The tortoise hurriedly jumped into the situation and grabbed her leg. On the count of three, he pulled with all his might. The sea urchin flew backwards with haste. They cleaned up her wound and all hugged each other. Anna recognized his great deed and thanked him dearly, and they all swam swiftly away, with a great amount of gratitude in their hearts.

They were gliding along when the ground started to shake and rumble. They all paused in fear. Anna knew that it was an earthquake threatening them. She warned the others that it could create a tsunami carrying them much farther away from their intended destination. She recalled the Octopus King’s castle of jagged rocks and was positive they would die if they slammed into the stones. They stood there in intense contemplation. They desperately tried to figure out a solution to their problem without panicking. Anna suddenly viewed a plant off in the distance, strong enough to cling to. They rushed over and latched on just in time. The rushing waters come whipping past them as fast as a cheetah running full out. They came propelling in directly toward them. They hung on for dear life. The water traveled pass them and finally settled down. They sobbed with gratitude and happiness. They knew they could have been dead by then, but with the sturdiness of that plant they were standing there as alive as they could ever be. They were hugging and celebrating when they perceived a baritone voice jabbering behind them. They turned around and to their great astonishment, it was the Octopus King! They were speechless, but the king ended up explaining to them that he was extremely impressed by their accomplishment of surviving the tsunami. They described to him each of their different needs. He told Anna that for her bravery and courage, using his powers he could take her home in a wave. He warned her that another earthquake could happen which would carry her farther than her home and possibly lead to her death.

Anna pondered it over again and decided it would be the only way she could possibly see her family and Anastasia again even it could be a little risky. Anna bid farewell to her friends. The whale with a brand new blow spout, the starfish with his endless color, and the turtle with a dazzling new tail sticking out of his body. She caught the wave and sailed in the direction of her home. Crying, but also exhilarated to see her loved ones once more - she safely made it home alive and tightly squeezed Anastasia with relief. Anna asked her where she had gone when they began surfing. Anastasia informed her that she swam back to shore and was wondering the same thing about Anna.

As the friends headed home together, Anna realized,”When you are in a tough situation use your brain and use the help and encouragement of your friends.”

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