Sleep Swimming

Seth Flatley rests on the sandy bottom. His pancake-like figure obscures in the sand below the traffic of passersby. Mama and Papa Flatley always warm him,

"Bury yourself in the sand and shells so the silkies can't find you." Mama Flatley often reminds Seth of his floundering tendencies to fall asleep while waiting to catch prey,

"Open your eyes-sleep with your eyes open-you're a shark." Seth squirms side to side and chuckles, spitting out a few bits of undigested octopus,

"Ma, what good are eyes when you want me buried on the ocean floor, hidden from the rest of the world?"

Papa Flatley reminds Seth, "listen to your mom, or you'll end up like Slank, the one-eyed squid." Mama Flatley intervenes again, "You are an angel shark and not meant to be seen, follow your destiny. Perpetual motion can kill you!"

"Okay mom, it's just that there are many other sharks out there exploring the bay and reaching new territories and tasting new creatures."

Mama Flatley flips her tail fin, kicking sand up, "Oh well, just stay put. Your dad and I are catching the Pablo Bay express currents to go shopping in the fishing fields, we'll see you later."

Seth flutters side to side, digging himself into the ocean floor. He buries himself completely in the sand with only his inconspicuous blueberry-sized eyes gazing upward. Bored, after chilling for about five minutes, a large silkie silhouette slithers hypnotically near the surface. Each thrust compels the Great White shark further and further ahead with so little effort as to glide into space- an aquatic odyssey beyond any Pacific Angel Shark's conditioned domain. Seth finds himself inspired by the navigation of the grandiose silkie and begins following him along the ocean floor. When Silkie above thrusts right, Seth below thrusts right. When Silkie veers left, Seth veers left.

"What the heck? Why don't I follow him across the sea? Mom and Dad will be shopping, and no one will know." Motivated by rebellion and a divergent curiosity, Seth trails Silkie under the Golden Gate Bridge and out the bay past Fort Point, and further along the cold Pacific currents sucking him out to the Farallon Islands.

North of the bay on the Marin side, a raft of sea lions is feasting on a bed of kelp, munching down on Dungeness crab. The Silkie senses the commotion and investigates the area. He circles the raft attempting to gain leverage on any outlying seals breaking away from the raft. As he circles, he shows off his white ivory smile, a warning to all sea creatures that the Master Landlord of the Sea can decide at any minute to charge a bite-sized piece of rent from any tenants who dare get close to him. The seals spot him and dive off the kelp bed and into the water. They twirl and twist swimming in a rapid motion so the landlord can barely get a grip with his teeth. Meanwhile, tasty. pieces of Dungeness crab left over from the feast fall to the bottom.

Ahead of the other angel sharks, Seth is ready and completely above the sand in the oceanic rift under the shadows of the Silkie. He darts to the bottom, seizing tasty Dungeness crab legs and thorax soup. A dubious angel shark buried below comments, "that angel doesn't have a prayer, he's going to get nabbed by a leopard or a silkie." But Seth keeps crunching down, enjoying his score, waving his heavenly wings as an angel should. Suddenly, the Silkie slithers by him, bumping his tail,

"Hey there angel, I saw you following me out of the bay and into the wild Pacific. Feel free to follow me anytime you want. There's plenty of fruit in the sea and an abundance for creatures at all depths to eat."

Seth smiles and asks, "But, my mom said perpetual motion can kill you. Is that true?"

"Motion is what keeps us silkies alive and well. We need water to flow over our gills to get oxygen and momentum to catch our prey."

Seth worries, "but what if a boat propeller hits you or you get stuck in a net?"

The Silkie laughs, "If I see a boat approaching, I just jag right and keep swerving, and I stay away from the shallows where most nets are found. We silkies even sleep while we are swimming!"

"Wow," Seth replied with amazement. "Well, I must return home."

"What's your name?"

"Seth"

"See you again soon, Seth!"

"Later, Silkie."

"Wait, one last thing, Seth. I've always wondered what it's like to take a nap in the sand. When we haven't had a seal meal in a while, we get tired and perpetual motion gets tough and dreary."

Seth's eyes open wide, "It's boring, you aren't missing a thing, I would rather sleep swim any day than have to bury myself in the ocean floor."

Seth returned home and felt prouder than ever to say he was a Pacific Angel Shark. He realized perpetual motion is everything in the world of survival and it doesn't matter whether you are a silkie sleep swimming or an angel napping in the sand, but that curiosity keeps the engine of life moving forward.