PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Feeling moved by the kindness shown by Plett residents after more than 1 000 seahorses washed ashore, Dr Ahmed Adam, medical doctor from Pretoria penned the following short story:
It is the year 102023. On the Plettenberg Bay coast in South Africa, archaeologists have made an exciting discovery of two seahorses with their tails intertwined.
These amazing fossils sparked an intensive research by University students which yielded the following intriguing tale:
In the summer of 2023, 100 000 years ago, the Western Cape experienced a massive storm and heavy flooding which was unusual, even for the Cape of Storms. Deep in the coral reef, Romeo had his tail firmly gripped around a blade of grass.
He gently gave reassurance to his first love and childhood sweetheart, Juliet. He reminded her that they have been through worse and they would get through this.
Juliet, with the remarkable sixth sense instinct that is a distinctive gift of the female species, was not convinced. Deep in her gut, she knew that this was the mother of all storms. She gave Romeo a sweet smile as she gently looked down at his belly. She had deposited her eggs in his front pouch and they had lovingly met each other daily for the past two weeks and continued their mesmerising courtship dance and bonding rituals.
Delivery was imminent. They both attended the Lamaze classes and deep breathing exercises in preparation for childbirth with a multiple pregnancy (about 1000 little fry). As they lovingly looked into each other's eyes, the reverie was suddenly broken by a huge deep subsurface wave which enveloped them and tossed them out onto the beach. Romeo lay on his back, dazed. He looked up at the dark ominous clouds and wondered if he was dead.
Is this the end? Will I finally meet my Creator? Did I live a good life? Was I a good son to my parents? Was I a good, caring and kind seahorse? Was I good to my neighbours?
He lay gasping and wondered if he would see a bright light at the end of the tunnel (stories he heard from near-death seahorse survivors). Then he started to panic. What had happened to Juliet? Where is she?
There are so many seahorses around me. Why do we all look the same? As he lay pondering the deeper meaning of life, he suddenly felt himself being lifted by a kind, gentle and compassionate human hand and being placed in a high-tech medically advanced ICU ambulance (in seahorse terminology, this ambulance was a plastic bucket).
He was in a state of shock and daze. All he could recall was many strange faces and many people washing him and resuscitating him as he floated in and out of consciousness. Time stood still. Finally, he was placed in familiar territory. He recovered to find that the ocean was now calm and he was deep among the Plettenberg Bay coral reefs with hundreds of other survivors, each of them narrating their ordeal of near-death experiences and survival.
But Romeo only had one thought: where is Juliet? Where is the love of my life, my soulmate? She is the only one that understands me. She gives meaning to my existence. My endorphins start flowing whenever I see her.
With his mind in a daze, Romeo puts her picture and description on the "missing persons" notice board at the entrance to the magical seaweed forest and frantically starts the quest to find her (This tale was later told in a blockbuster Hollywood movie called Finding Juliet).
As he turned down 5th Avenue in down-town Coral Reef, he saw her in the distance. He froze. Is he dreaming? The lyrics of Christina Perri's song I have loved you for a Thousand Years started looping in his brain. He looked at her long eyelashes and beautiful large eyes.
Then he looked at her full lips that needed no Botox fillers. She swayed gently in the current and slowly turned towards him, changing colour to a royal crimson red as she instinctively sensed his presence.
Their eyes met. Time stood still. They embraced and he released all the eggs (fry) from the pouch to continue their DNA genetic lineage for the next generation. However, the storm had sadly taken its toll.
Their tails intertwined as they slowly performed a last and final courtship ritual of love. Words were not necessary. They slowly descended in a majestic spiral to the bottom of the ocean and lay there in the arms of heavenly embrace, lip to lip, tails entwined. A passing manta ray showered their lifeless bodies with sand and grit.
And thus they remained for 100 000 years. Today, their 3m chrome-bronze monument is a testimony to the loving tale of Romeo and Juliet and a celebration of the amazing courage, kindness and compassion of the honourable human beings (the Pletts) who gave a happy ending to their fairy tale romance…
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