Surfer Turtle

Today we will take a walk into the ocean. We walk feeling the warm sand under our bare feet, then, the first cool waves nip at our toes. We keep on walking until salty water covers our knees, legs, oooh it gets a bit chilly when it washes around our belly and back. Shoulders, chin, take a deep breath and under we go, completely immersed, hair floating in the gentle push and pull of the waves. Carry on walking we see sunrays breaking through the surface illuminating the blue water all around us. As we walk further it gets darker and colder. Now it’s so dark we almost can’t see … but what is that shadow there in the sand? It looks like a rock, doesn’t it? Let’s go closer. It looks like a turtle. It IS a turtle.

Turtle lives at the bottom of the ocean, and he loves living here, except… it can get very dark and cold, especially at night. Turtle wished he could keep some of the sunlight that he loves bathing in on a rock or on a beach during the day.

He often swims to the beach during the day watching humans; it can get rather busy with all those bathers and surfers. At night they often light fires on the beach to keep them warm. They sit around their fires, singing and laughing. One of the surfers he has noticed before. He is always the first to appear on the beach when the sun rises and surfs until the evening when dusk chases him out of the water. Turtle can tell by the way he is always smiling that he loves the ocean as much as Turtle does.

One evening after dark when everyone had gone home Turtle sees that one fire had not been extinguished properly. He crawls onto the beach close to the fire and enjoys its heat. Perhaps he can take some of that heat home with him to keep him warm & give him light? He edges closer and hauls some of the burning wood onto his shell. Yip, this is the kind of warmth he likes. He crawls back towards the water but when the first wave washes over him – zsssshhhhh the fire goes out. Surprised he stops. Well, let’s try again. He crawls back to the fire, hauls another load of fire onto his back and again crawls towards the ocean. Again it goes out.

Suddenly he hears a voice. “Turtle, what are you doing?” Turtle turns around and sees the surfer dude who always stays the longest. “I want to take fire with me so that I can stay warm and have light at home. It can get awfully dark and cold down there,” he says. Surfer dude responds “water extinguishes fire, it won’t work like this. But I have an idea. Come back tomorrow evening, we’ll make a plan.”

The next day Turtle can hardly wait until the evening. Finally the sun begins to set and he swims back to the beach. There Surfer dude sits waiting. “Hey Turtle, there you are! Let me help you. But you have to hold still!” Surfer dude starts cutting a hole into Turtle’s carapax and lowers a burning candle into it. He seals the hole in the carapax closed and says “That’s it, Turtle! This should work!”

Turtle hardly has time to say ‘Thank you’ so excited is he to try his new light. He rushes back into the ocean, swims home, and yes! The candle keeps burning, warmth spreads all over him and he finally has light to read his favourite book!

The next morning he swims back towards the beach. Surfer dude is already in the water catching waves. “Hey Turtle” he shouts, “High Five!” and stretches out his hand. Turtles stretches out his fin and smack, they high five. “I’m loving my candle, thank you so much!” says Turtle. “No biggie, I’m happy to help. Please come visit again, we surf a bit together!”

And so the two become a bit of a well known sight there in the waves, hanging out together, enjoying each other’s company when all the other surfers have gone home.

Some time goes past and the candle burns shorter and shorter so every now and then Surfer dude replaces the candle to keep Turtle warm.

Then, one evening, Surfer dude is the only one on the water as it has been a rather cold day. Suddenly, a rip current gets hold of him and drags him out to sea further and further, so fast that by the time he knows what’s going on he is far out to sea and can’t see the land in the quickly fading light. He gets quite worried, he doesn’t know which direction to paddle to reach land and he is cold and wet. He tries to curl up on his surfboard to keep warm. There, a splash in the water! Sharks? He looks up and sees a shadow beside him. Not a shark but a familiar shadow. Turtle!

“You are very far from the land” says Turtle, “and you look cold!” “Please Turtle,” Surfer dude can hardly speak through his shattering teeth, “Help me! I don’t know what to do! I don’t think I’ll survive a night out here in the cold.” – “I’ll be back in five minutes!” Turtle nods and disappears. While Surfer dude is trying to assure himself, hoping that Turtle understands the dangerous situation, Turtle dives to the bottom of the ocean and gathers all the stumps from the burnt-down candles he discarded over the years. Inside his shell he lights them one by one until the combined candles shine so bright that their light penetrates his carapax like hundreds of little rays. It’s actually getting quite hot in there, thinks Turtle, and up he goes again.

Surfer dude is so cold by now he can hardly move and is close to giving up all hope. But there, through the surface, crashes a wondrous sight: Turtle shining bright! “Come! Get onto my back!” But Surfer dude’s body is shaking too much, he can’t do it. Turtle gently pushes him off his surfboard into the cold water, dives underneath him and raises him up out of the water on his warm bright carapax. Immediately Surfer dude can feel the warmth reviving his limbs. As Turtle starts to swim towards the faraway shore Surfer dude shouts: “My surfboard!” “What about it?” asks Turtle. “It’s my favourite one!” says Surfer dude. Turtle remembers him always using this particular one and makes a plan. He heaves his body with Surfer dude still on top of him onto the surfboard and begins to paddle. After a while they get closer to the shore and suddenly waves are lifting Turtle on the surfboard up and wheeeeee fast they go towards the shore. Another wave comes, an even bigger one, and wheeeeee they are racing even faster. “This is fun!” shouts Turtle “Wohoooo!”

When they get to the beach, Surfer dude feels warm and is able to climb off Turtle on his own. “Thank you, Turtle, you definitely saved my life tonight. I don’t know how to thank you.” – “Don’t you have an old surfboard for me?” asks Turtle, “This surfing is rather fun.” “Yes, of course, Turtle, I’ll bring one tomorrow!” Surfer dude is all smiles, doesn’t he know himself about the love for surfing!

From the next day on, the surfer crowd gets quite used to seeing Turtle joining them. “Hey Turtle! High Five!” cheers Surfer dude whenever he sees him and reaches out his hand. Turtle slaps his hand with his own fin “High five!”

Years go by, Surfer dude is getting older and doesn’t have the energy and strength anymore to surf all day, then not even every single day. Turtle tries to join him whenever he is out in the surf. Eventually, Surfer dude hardly has the strength to surf anymore at all. One evening Surfer dude comes to the beach to see Turtle. Turtle sees him and catches one last wave all the way to the beach. “High five!” – “High five!” smiles Surfer dude and hand and fin slap in the air. “Turtle,” he says, “I’m sick. The doctors say I cannot surf anymore and quite frankly, I’m too tired to even walk to the beach. This is no life anymore. A life without surf!” Turtle is sad for his old friend. “What now?”, he asks. Surfer dude coughs and winces a little before he responds: “You know I’ve always loved the ocean, it is the place I have always wanted to be.” Turtle nods. Surfer dude continues “Can’t you take me with you to the bottom of the ocean? I’d rather be there than anywhere else.” – “That is an easy thing for me to do”, says Turtle, “but are you sure?”. Surfer dude nods, “Yes, it is what I want, and I want you to have my favourite surfboard. Please take it. Let’s go, show me your home.” He stretches out over Turtle’s carapax, similar to when Turtle saved him all those years before. “Hold on!” says Turtle before they go under water. Surfer dude marvels at the rays of sun that penetrate underneath the surface of the ocean, now almost pinkish in the setting sun. Slowly he can feel the water getting colder and the light darker. Turtle swims on and on, deeper and deeper they sink until they reach Turtle’s home. “This is it,” says Turtle and turns around to look at his friend. But Surfer dude is not replying anymore, his hair is waving gently in the current, his eyes are closed, and he has a big smile on his face. Turtle nudges him off his carapax onto the ocean floor and with a tear in his eye and a smile on his face quietly says Goodbye.

The next day Turtle goes back to the beach to catch some waves on his new favourite surfboard. When the other surfers see Surfer dude’s old surfboard they ask about him. Turtle explains to them where Surfer dude is. The surfers smile and nod – they share his love for the ocean and understand his decision. “High five!” they offer to Turtle. “High five!” Turtle responds and fin slaps many a hands.

Turtle continues to surf with the other guys but quite often now feels a need to go further, experience new places, surf at other beaches. More and more often he goes on journeys through the oceans to visit surf spots. And if you ever sit on your surfboard waiting for a wave and you see a turtle appear, reach out your hand “High Five!” and Turtle will respond “High Five!” and will slap your hand with his fin and will know he is welcome.s

Ragna Redelstorff – 2022