The Whale

There are some who ridicule me as ‘a mere minnow in the mighty sea’ It does not bother me in the least. I know that in this vast universe, I am less consequential than a speck of sand. The mighty ocean reminds me of that truth every day. So, what does another’s mockery matter ? Let me tell you something you do not know: I am just a humble fisherman, casting my lines from a lone boat into the deep blue. There are many like me along our coast, but I am the youngest among them all. Well do I remember those long years when my father used to go fishing. It was only after his demise that I began going to Velliyankallu. Until then, what afforded me the greatest excitement was angling in the caves in the red rock that stretched out into the sea.

But that is not what I set out to tell. Last week, I had an experience in the sea that shook me to my core. You might not believe me. It was a bright, moonlit night. The full moon’s radiance sprayed silver across the rolling ocean. Veils of darkness spread like fine mesh over the eastern rim.

My little boat was anchored about a hundred meters off Velliyankallu. A gentle breeze was blowing in from the west. The sea was mostly tranquil that night. The red snapper and the two groupers that I had already caught were in the boat. Having cast two lines into the ocean depths, I was now bracing myself to feel the fish bite.

That was when, beside my boat, I noticed a strange commotion on the water’s surface. In a flash, a mighty fountain exploded upward, glittering in the moonlight. A bolt of cold fear pierced through my eyes and into my brain. My heart chanted: ‘Here comes the king!’

By the time I realized that the gulf between life and death was even thinner than the fishing line I gripped in my hand, the face of a whale emerged above the waves, right beside the boat.

In the sonorous sounds of ocean depths, the whale appeared to be saying something. Though temporarily paralysed with fear, I managed to regain my composure and hurriedly hauled in both fishing lines I had thrown into the sea, and placed them onto the deck. For some wild reason, I felt I should toss the fish back into the sea. My terrified mind reasoned that if the whale ate my catch; danger could somehow be averted.

But what happened was something unexpected. The whale caught all three fish that were thrown into the water and gently dropped them back into my boat.

It was then that I noticed that the whale, even as it drew near, was careful not to cause the faintest wobble to me or the boat. Relief washed over me as I understood that the whale was not a threat. Its massive body hidden beneath the water, the whale pressed its face lovingly against the side of my boat. It continued to say something in that mysterious thalassic voice. I perceived a strange affection and tenderness in those utterances.

Suddenly, a west wind carried the whale’s words to me, delicately translating them into my own tongue. This is what it said:

‘Child, I know you. For two or three days, I have been searching for you. After years, I recognized the scent of familiar blood in this corner of the sea. Persuaded by an ancient memory, I journeyed here, and I found its owner. It is none other than you.

I must tell you of an incident that happened to me in the past. When I was a calf, I once caught in a net, a trap set by fishermen for sharks. I thought of my mother, who must be grieving my absence somewhere out in the sea. Thereupon, I struggled to escape with all my might. After much exertion, I finally broke free, but the meshes twisted around my body and crippled my movement. I swam, disoriented, and ended up in another part of the sea. Bereft of my mother and deprived of food, I felt emotionally and physically fatigued. As I drifted, barely alive, atop the ocean, I was spotted by a human. A lone fisherman in a small boat. He drew his boat close, comforted me, and with his knife, slowly cut away the meshes, restoring me with the freedom of mobility.

Still, I floated there awhile, trembling. That man caressed me, tenderly as one would soothe a child. He gave me all the fish he had caught. Hungry and grateful, I devoured them with tears of relief. The man who saved me was your father. Your blood carries his kindness. I sensed that blood, and so I longed to meet you. This is how I came to you, how I found you here.’

As I listened to the whale’s tale, translated for me by the wind, a frisson of excitement passed through me. I felt myself drifting between fact and fantasy, lost in the fragile vessel of consciousness.

Never once had my father told me about rescuing a whale calf. I remembered the many magical and daring escapades he had narrated from his young fishing days. Why then did he never spin a yarn out of the incident with that stranded whale calf? I don’t know. Sensing my silence, the west wind encouraged me: ‘If you have anything to say to the whale, tell it now.’

Raising my voice, I said, ‘It brings comfort to know that at least one creature in this sea remembers my father. He passed away a year ago.’ I felt sure that the wind translated my message into the whale’s language. The whale responded, sharing its joy and sorrow through waves and ripples.

Then, lifting its face, the whale spoke again, and the wind translated it for me: ‘While your father lived, I always wished to meet him again. I searched for him across many seas, but sadly, never found him. Some of our kind are intimidating giants who swallow their prey whole, and sometimes, sadly, even humans. I have never done that. When ships wrecked and boats capsized, I always tried to save humans, remembering your father. Let me ask you. Is there anything I can do for you, here in this ocean?’

I replied, through the west wind: ‘Dear friend, thank you for finding me, for this meeting, this friendship. I am glad we have crossed paths; may we meet again in this boundless sea. Soon the day will break. I must return to the shore with my catch.’

Again, the wind flung my words across the sea in the whale’s language. Suddenly, before I could comprehend what was happening, an enormous force lifted me and my boat skyward. In the next moment, I found the boat and myself balanced gently on the whale’s back.

It became clear—the whale was carrying us to the shore! The light of the rising sun was dancing across the waves even before the shore came into view. Never had I travelled so fast from the shore to the sea or back. The whale raced forward leaving a terrifying trail of waves in its wake. On drawing close to the shore, I spotted a throng of people on the beach, gaping in astonishment at my approaching boat. They were all folks I knew. Before anyone could fully grasp what was really happening, the whale anchored itself in the deepest waters near the shore. Using its tail, it gently lifted my boat and placed it carefully on the shore. Then, expressing joy with its face and flippers, it bid a fond farewell.

At this point, not only me but the whole crowd on the shore waved back in wonder and joy. As the whale dived deep into the depths and its colossal spout shot salt water high into the morning sky, I caught the marvel in everyone’s eyes.

As I walked to the market to hand over my catch—the three fish from my boat strung together—to the broker, people stood around puzzled, not knowing what to ask me. I could only smile inwardly when the sharks and stingrays of the land, who normally brushed me aside as a mere minnow in the ocean, respectfully made way for me to pass.