Several years ago, my husband and I enjoyed a sailing vacation in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas, where the beautiful turquoise sea is a perfect temperature for swimming and snorkeling.
Our boat was moored out a nice distance from the beach, so I jumped off the boat to snorkel and swim to shore, relishing the perfect temperature of the water and marveling at the variety of fish so close to the surface. I felt like I could stay there all day and commune with these beautiful creatures.
About halfway to shore, I saw a shiny, silver barracuda–longer than any other fish–gliding toward me. I turned to get a good look, and, for some reason, I assumed it was a female. She was not at all aggressive, but she seemed curious about me.
She swam parallel to me for a short distance, and I was thrilled. At one point, she even let me reach out and touch her side, which was soft and smooth. It was such a precious moment! Then, when I looked at her, she was facing me, and I felt a kind of kinship forming. I was grateful to have what seemed like several minutes but was probably only a few seconds with her. I watched her graceful glide as she swam away, leaving me feeling awe and wonder.
The memory of that special connection has stayed with me through the years, so I decided to give that inspiring experience to Elizabeth, the main character in my book so that she could learn from it.