潛水歷險記

Isabel+Crabtree+姜琳琳

The wind whips1） my hair as the truck flies down the narrow path. I catch my reflection in a snorkel2） mask， cheeks flushed and eyes alight3） with excitement. I'm sitting with my parents， sister and grandma in the back of a dirty white truck as we head to our snorkeling destination off the coast of Hawaii. I'm not even worried by the lack of seat belts （and seats） in the unsteady truck， because our guide， up in the taxi， has assured us we are about to have an unforgettable experience. What we don't know yet is just how unforgettable it's going to be.

The truck stops， and we climb out onto smooth black lava4） rock. The afternoon sun peeks out5） between thick gray curtains of sky. The only thing that's strange is the frightening silence， as if the forest music of birdsong and whispering leaves which is everywhere has been muted6）.

Our guide， Barry， is tall with legs covered in old scars. He agilely navigates7） the slippery rock and leads us down to the ocean. There is no sand beach here， only slippery volcanic stone sliding abruptly into the waves. We can't be getting in now. We're too high up. Nevertheless， Barry instructs us to put on our fins8） and masks and jump in.

"Just ... jump？" My sister sounds doubtful.

Barry gets a look on his face like he's about to deliver a speech for the thousandth time.

"It's totally safe. The water's great. Hop in！" He smiles encouragingly. We decide that since we came all the way here， we'd better just trust the guy.

One by one， we jump into the sea and discover the water is fantastic. Barry gets in last and promptly starts swimming， his snorkel sticking out from the water.

Soon Barry signals to us to come up， holding a strange creature in his hands. I gasp9） at the round， spiny10） animal and realize it's a pufferfish11）. Barry passes it around with the assurance that it's totally harmless. My father is last. Suddenly he yells and drops the fish.

"He bit me！" he exclaims， staring at the distinct bite mark in his palm. So much for12） harmless.

Once we stop laughing， we continue snorkeling. After a while Barry leads us into a small bay within the cliffs. He swims up to a crack in the rock and goes in as we nervously judge this dark narrow entrance. I try to be brave. It's just a cave—completely safe.

I take a breath and enter， surfacing in a space the size of an elevator. Once everyone has come inside， we are crammed13）together， standing in water higher than our waists. I'm thinking it's actually pretty cool when the surprise comes.

I hear a faint roar and feel like rope sliding against my legs. Barry draws an alarmed breath. Seawater is receding swiftly out the cave's entrance with a force powerful enough to knock us down. The rough opening looks tiny， and we're all being dragged toward it. I realize my legs are slipping. My sister cries out.

I scream but don't get to finish as I'm pulled with great force underwater. I roll over and over in a chaotic， churning14）surge15）. Seconds later， I'm put down a full 10 feet from the entrance， losing my sense of direction. It all happened so fast. I do a head count16） and see that we're all OK. But something in the atmosphere has changed. Dramatically.

It's getting colder， and the wind has picked up. Waves are hitting the rocks forcefully. In just a few minutes， the five of us have gone from excited and safe to frightened and stranded17）.

"We need to get out now，" Barry says. His voice barely conceals a note of alarm. We are far from our starting place， and the sea is already dangerous. Time is very important. Barry guides us toward the shore with quick strokes18）.

We reach a wall of rock that leads to land. Slippery algae19） near water level make footholds nonexistent， while the rock above looks rough and painful to clutch. Slippery large rocks stick out from the water nearby； a fall would be very dangerous. I hold my breath as Barry jumps upward， clutching the rock and climbing onto land. He turns to help us.

The rest of the group doesn't have Barry's strength or skill. I wonder if we will be trapped here. I swallow gulps20） of salt air and try not to panic.

Each of us struggles our way up the wall. Barry pulls us out of the water， where we lie sprawled21） on the rocks， recovering from our terrible experience. Finally， my family sits in a circle above the sea. We're all here， and we're all OK.

I'm completely wet， cold and exhausted， sitting on the edge of a cliff in the middle of the ocean. But I start laughing， now， because I'm not going to die and I have a tale22） to rival any fisherman's.

卡車飛馳在狹窄的小路上，風吹打著我的頭發(fā)。我在一個潛水面罩上看到了自己的映像：雙頰緋紅，興奮得眉開眼笑。我和爸爸媽媽、妹妹、奶奶一起坐在一輛臟兮兮的白色卡車后斗，正前往我們的潛水目的地——夏威夷近岸的海域。這輛搖搖晃晃的卡車里面沒有安全帶（也沒有座位），我甚至都沒有為此擔心，因為坐在前面出租車里的導游早已向我們保證我們即將有一次難忘的經(jīng)歷。只是我們還不知道這次經(jīng)歷將會多么令人難忘。

卡車停了下來，我們從后斗爬出來，站在了光滑的黑色火山巖上。午后的太陽從厚厚的灰色云幕間探出頭來。唯一奇怪的是那令人感到害怕的寂靜，就好像隨處可以聽到的、由鳥兒的歌聲與樹葉的沙沙作響聲所組成的森林樂曲被消音了。

我們的導游巴里個子挺高，雙腿到處都是舊傷疤。他靈活地繞過那塊濕滑的巖石，領(lǐng)著我們下到了海邊。這里沒有沙灘，只有突兀地直插在海浪中的濕滑火山石。我們現(xiàn)在可不能跳進去，我們所在的位置太高了。但是，巴里卻指示我們穿上自己的腳蹼，帶上面罩，然后跳入海中。

“就這么……跳下去？”我妹妹的聲音聽起來存有疑慮。

巴里的臉上露出了一種神情，好像他即將第1000次發(fā)表一場演說似的。

“這里絕對安全，水可好了，跳進去吧！”他一臉鼓勵地微笑著。既然我們大老遠來這兒了，我們決定最好還是相信這個家伙。

我們一個接一個地跳進了海里，發(fā)現(xiàn)這里的海水真是棒極了。巴里最后一個跳入海中，立即開始游了起來，他的呼吸管一直露在水面上。

很快巴里就示意我們湊上前去，他雙手捧著一個奇怪的生物。看見這個圓乎乎、滿身是刺的動物，我驚訝地倒抽了一口氣，隨即意識到這是一條河豚。巴里把它遞給我們傳看，并向我們保證它絕對無害，爸爸是最后一個看的。突然，他大喊一聲把它扔掉了。

“它咬我！”他叫出聲來，盯著自己手掌上那明顯的咬痕。說好的無害呢？

我們笑夠了，就繼續(xù)浮潛。過了一會兒，巴里領(lǐng)著我們游進了一個被懸崖峭壁環(huán)繞的小灣。他向前游到巖石間的一道裂縫處，然后游了進去，此時我們還在緊張不安地打量著這個黑乎乎的狹窄入口。我努力變得勇敢些。這不過是個洞穴——絕對安全。

我吸了一口氣，然后游了進去，在一個只有電梯大小的空間里浮出水面。等每個人都游進來之后，我們就擠在了一起，站在略高于腰的海水中。我正想著這還真是挺酷的，這時令人意想不到的事情發(fā)生了。

我聽到一聲隱隱的海浪咆哮聲，然后感覺像有繩子纏上我的雙腿。巴里驚恐地倒吸一口氣。海水以一股強大的力量迅速退出洞穴入口，力量之大足以將我們帶倒。那個參差不齊的缺口看起來很小，此時我們?nèi)急缓Ｋ鼟吨舷蛩Ｎ乙庾R到自己的雙腿在打滑。妹妹大叫了起來。

我發(fā)出一聲尖叫，但沒能把這聲叫完，因為我被一股巨大的力量拖進了水下。我在一片無序的、猛烈翻騰的波濤中不停地翻滾。幾秒種后，我被沖到了離小灣入口處足足十英尺（編注：約三米）遠的地方，失去了方向感。這一切發(fā)生得太快了。我清點了一下人數(shù)，發(fā)現(xiàn)我們都平安無恙。但這時空氣中有些東西發(fā)生了變化。巨大的變化。

天變得越來越冷，風也大了起來。海浪猛烈地擊打著巖石。就在幾分鐘的時間里，我們五個人從興奮、平安無事變?yōu)楹ε?、孤立無援。

“我們現(xiàn)在需要離開這里?！卑屠镎f。他聲音中的驚恐語氣幾乎無法隱藏。我們現(xiàn)在離出發(fā)的地點很遠，而大海已經(jīng)危機四伏了。時間非常重要。巴里帶領(lǐng)我們朝岸邊游去，我們快速劃動著雙臂。

我們游到像墻似的一塊巖石那里，它通往陸地。但水位附近的巖石表面長滿了濕滑的海藻，讓我們無從下腳，而上面的巖石看上去高低不平，攀爬會很費勁。還有許多濕滑的大塊巖石從旁邊的水面伸出來，如果摔下去會非常危險。我屏住呼吸，看著巴里向上一躍，緊緊抓著巖石爬上了岸。他轉(zhuǎn)過身來幫助我們。

我們這群人中剩下的都沒有巴里的力量或技巧。我懷疑我們會不會被困在這里。我大口大口地咽下有海水咸味的空氣，盡量讓自己不要驚慌失措。

我們每個人都艱難地爬上那面墻。巴里把我們從水中都拉了出來，我們四仰八叉地躺在露出水面的巖石上，從我們那可怕的經(jīng)歷中慢慢恢復過來。最后，我們一家人在大海上方圍成一圈坐了下來。我們都在這兒，我們都好好的。

我坐在大海中央一座懸崖的邊兒上，全身都濕透了，渾身冰冷，筋疲力盡。但此時此刻，我突然開始放聲大笑，因為我不會死了，而且我還擁有了一個足以和任何漁夫的故事相媲美的冒險經(jīng)歷。