II : Scream from the Deep 1

I was 23 years old…

We were all more or less the same age.

The youngest was Sergio, Juan’s brother. He was 19.

Those boys had been spending their summers vacationing in our village for the past few years.

What we knew was that their father was Spanish, and that their parents had separated long ago.

It was just another typical day when we set out for our usual beach spot.

The sea was calm.

I’ve seen it like that before, but never that calm.

There was something strange in the air that day… a kind of tension.

Fishermen in the village had been whispering lately — saying they’d been spotting larger fish near the coast.

Not whales or dolphins — those were common visitors.

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Sharks, they said. Maybe dogfish.

We knew such species existed, but great white sharks? That was a different story.

Rumors started spreading. Some believed it, others thought it was just a good story to tell the tourists.

We assumed there might be sharks — harmless ones, far from shore — but nothing like what the fishermen were claiming.

To be honest, despite how deep we used to dive, we’d never seen anything strange.

Not even when the sea turned black with seaweed, when that eerie fear wrapped around your gut — still, no sign of anything real.

Anyway, despite the stories, we wore our masks and headed out, searching for seashells and something new to discover.

We often swam to the small islet across from our beach, to pry large shells off the rocks.

The talk of sharks may have been in the back of our minds, but fear wasn’t.

We trusted our sea. It felt safe.

One day — or rather one afternoon — we were at Christos’ family hut.

Ours was farther inland, but his stood right on the beach.

Not everyone was there. It was me, Christos, Michalis, Aria, Margery, and Alex.

The rest were gathered down at the shore.

As I said, the sea was calm. But the air carried that same strange heaviness.

At that moment, old fisherman Barba Thanasis was climbing up the nearby rocks after tying his boat.

“Hey, Barba Thanasis!” I called out jokingly, “Did you see any sharks today?”

“You laugh, you fool,” he replied, “but if you ever see that dark shadow near the surface, let’s see if you’ll still be smiling.”

He walked off, holding his catch of octopus.

I remember pouring two shots of ouzo and heading to his hut.

“Come on, Barba Thanasis,” I said. “To health.”

We clinked glasses.

“I saw the shadow, you know,” he said. “But you like to mock things.”

“Take me with you tomorrow,” I told him firmly.

“I want to see the shadow for myself.”

“Idiot,” he muttered.

“Just imagine the fear you’ll feel. But if that’s what you want, then fine. You’re coming with me tomorrow.”

I felt a thrill — an anticipation I couldn’t explain.

To see a great white shark up close?

The same creatures I’d only seen in movies?

It was strange, and yet… I wanted it.

But the encounter with the shadow wouldn’t wait for the next day.

It came much sooner…