When they returned to Cairns, Beanz decided the Pacific’s salt water would help his wound heal. He drove to the northern beaches most days for a walk and some swimming, inviting Rexxie and Luce along. Soon, some beach fishing gear would accompany them, and then Beanz’s old man’s tinny and spearguns. Luce was in awe of the bommies and coral stands that they snorkelled. He had never spearfished in any ocean and had never really seen underwater sea activities before, not like those the Coral Sea or Great Barrier Reef offered.
The reef was sensationally other worldly. Her confronting, befooling elegance enchanted Luce’s human condition. Before diving, Beanz gave Luce some worldly, solid, local, swimming-the-reef advice, while slipping on their fins and goggles.
‘Dead set, Luce. If ya don’t know what it is, don’t touch it! And if ya do know what it is, don’t touch it!’
Beanz mentioned cone shells and the danger that came with picking them up. He also warned Luce about blue-ringed octopus, jellyfish and a few other hidden dangers the reef contained. Luce was reminded that unrivalled beauty is often evenly matched with unrivalled vices. Vibrant colours of bright neon and schools of uncountable fish, both in numbers and varieties, were matched only in size by Luce’s sentiment, smiles and whoops of underwater laughter. Sea turtles, calm as a gathering of priests, drifted casually by him, and friendly dugongs were a hypnotist’s watch to Luce’s eager, hungry eyes. The silence of this strange watery empire was unearthly.
#RobertLeeJohnston
Raven Canely PA
Robert Lee Johnston
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