Deep inside

12 years old Grade VI, Consolacion Central School

At the Great Barrier Reef, three pregnant seahorses are looking for a good place where to give birth. They are males; with seahorses it’s the males that get pregnant. “We need a safe place for our babies,” says Frank, the H. Seversi seahorse.

“Good idea!” his two companions say in chorus. “But where are we going to find a safe place?” ask the H. Hisfrix seahorses named Greg and Mark.

Frank sighs. “I think we just have to continue checking this reef until we find the right place,” he says.

So, the three of them travel on farther and farther. At one point along the way, Mark notices something up at the surface of the sea. “Rainbow!” he shouted in excitement. “Come, let’s get close to see it,” Mark tells the others.

“No, Mark, stop!” Frank tells Mark. But eager Mark still swims up towards the rainbow-like form. As he rises up to the surface of the water, he smells something. “Oil!” he cries out. But it is now too late to go back down; the oil has already covered his whole body, including his gills. Mark struggles for a while – and then he dies.

“Brother!” Greg screams from some distance below. He tries to come nearer to Mark, but Frank blocks his way. “There’s no more safe place in this world,” Greg shakes his head as he sobs.

“That’s not true,” Frank consoles the grieving Greg. “There must be a safe place somewhere. We just need to continue searching.” So the two remaining seahorses travel some more, until they see a spark near a boat up at the water surface.

“Dynamite! Run!” Frank shouted. A big sound breaks out – Boom! The glare and smoke from the explosion cover the whole place; there’s nothing else to see. Then another Boom! “Greg, where are you?” Frank worriedly calls out. Then, just as he moves to look for Greg, a net flies towards him. Luckily, he escapes it, but it was so close.

As the net pulls away and the smoke clears, Frank looks around and sees poor Greg gasping for breath in a small hole, dying. Before Frank can come closer, the man on the boat declares, “Oh, we’ve got a seahorse here!” as he picks up and takes the limp Greg away.

“Greg is correct,” Frank sadly murmurs. “There is no more safe place anywhere.” Frank feels hopeless. Not quite sure where else to go, he begins to swim aimlessly. At a short distance, he sees a school of fish in an arrow formation with the tip pointing deep towards the ocean bed. Frank follows the group and is led to a hidden hole under the corals.

One fish approaches and signals Frank towards the hole. Another fish comes up to him. “It’s safe deep inside,” he assures Frank, who obediently goes in and begins to give birth. Beautiful little seahorses come out one after the other, wriggling to keep their balance in the water, almost 200 of them! Frank couldn’t help his tears at the wonderful sight.

“If only Mark and Greg were here to see this,” he whispers to himself. If only they didn’t have to make the long perilous journey to find a safe place where to give birth. If only it didn’t have to cost them their lives to find a refuge like this one deep inside the womb of the ocean.