Untethered.

Elkin couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t be on the boat. He knew at one time or another he must have been somewhere. A long, seaweed-encrusted rope trailed from the bow of the small, weather-beaten wooden dingy. An umbilical cord. He supposed at some point it must have been tethered to something. Here he was nowhere, drifting freely on the wide open ocean, with no landmarks as far as the eye could see, the sun, moon and stars above the only markers of the passing of time and place. He had the vast open skies above him and the endless expanse of sea to call his own. But this little boat was all he knew as home.

Elkin counted himself lucky in many ways. The oceans were beautiful and rich with life. The abundance of fish, which he scooped freely with his net, and the fresh seaweed he gathered and dried in the sun meant he was never short of food. He had shelter in the form of a large canvas, which he could hunker down under in bad weather. But something was missing. He had a sense that life was carrying on elsewhere, just out of reach beyond the horizon. The more he thought about it, the more he craved connection. He watched the fish swimming in their shimmering shoals in perfect synergy, a wonderful world beneath the waves, and the gulls flocking high overhead. Swarms of luminous, harmonious jellyfish turned the ocean below into a magical, alien forest. Occasionally Elkin caught far-off glimpses of larger and more mysterious creatures, illuminated by the sinking sun that turned the sky pink and gold. Dark shapes rising and falling, jets of water sparkling in the fading light. He felt a deep longing within him. What must it be like to be no longer alone?

Sometimes Elkin thought he glimpsed a headland far away in the distance. At night he would fancy he could see distant lights on the horizon. He couldn’t be sure it wasn’t his eyes deceiving him. He longed to turn his boat towards these mysterious lands, to see what awaited him there. But without a sail or an oar, he was at the mercy of the seas.

One day a lonely outcropping appeared, unmistakably, on the ocean’s surface. As Elkin’s boat drifted closer, he could make out a small, rocky island, not much bigger than his boat. A solitary tree clung stubbornly to the black, barnacled rocks. It wasn’t much, but it was somewhere to rest. Elkin longed to moor his boat for a while, to climb to the top of the tree and see a little further beyond the horizon. The boat drifted tantalisingly close. Elkin reached out, rope in hand, grasping at the slippery, seaweed-covered rocks. But he couldn’t get a purchase on the treacherous surface. He grabbed desperately, the sharp barnacles scratching at his arms and hands, the choppy waters repeatedly throwing him back, splintering the boat’s hull on the rocks. Elkin cried out in frustration as the current swept him and his boat farther and farther from the island, until is was a distant speck on the horizon. That night he felt a deep, crushing sadness, heavier than he had ever felt before, that threatened to drag him down into the depths of despair.

As Elkin sat shivering numbly under the full moon feeling the weight of his sorrow, an unexpected sound roused him. It came from close by. He turned his head just in time to see one of the mysterious creatures breach the dark surface of the ocean not ten feet from the boat, letting of a huge jet of water spray high over Elkin’s head before sinking below the again. Just below the surface of the crystal clear water, Elkin glimpsed the creature’s huge eye, ringed in white, old, wise and full of understanding. Without words, it seemed to say to him “Don’t worry. You are not alone. You are loved.” The creature sunk down into the depths and was soon swallowed by the blackness, but Elkin was left with a feeling of warmth and strength. He slept soundly that night.

The next morning Elkin awoke to gathering clouds. As the day wore on, a strong wind began to whip up the gun-metal grey sea, rocking the boat this way and that. Elkin had weathered storms before. He bedded down under his tarpaulin, protecting himself and his few belongings as best he could, as large waves began to batter the boat. Torrential rain hammered at the canvas. Water sloshed into the boat, and Elkin was repeatedly forced to abandon his shelter to bail out what he could. The little boat scaled and crested enormous rolling waves that smashed it down mercilessly. Elkin was thrown around, tossed against its wooden sides, until finally, in the early hours of the morning the waves began to die down and he was able to crawl, bruised and battered back under his tarpaulin, utterly exhausted.

When he finally awoke, the sea was calm. The sun was high in the clear blue sky as Elkin crawled out from beneath his shelter to survey the damage caused by the storm. The boat’s hull was badly battered, but thankfully not letting any water in yet. It was in need of repair though. The tarpaulin was already almost dry in the midday sun. But the old rope was missing. His one link to a longed-for, lost home. Despite all his time on the ocean, this was the first time Elkin had felt truly untethered. Just then, he heard a familiar noise, like a soft, deep sigh. The creature had returned, its black glistening back and large dorsal fin rising out of the water as it blew a jet of water into the air, as if in greeting. But this time it wasn’t alone. A smaller shape rose up by its side, and as Elkin lifted his gaze he saw there was another, and another, until he realised there was a whole pod of these magical creatures surrounding him, guiding him. A family. “Come with us”, the creatures seemed to be saying. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

Suddenly Elkin knew he didn’t need the boat anymore. He took one last look at the place he’d called home, knowing he would remember it fondly but that their time together was at an end. Smiling, he breathed in the salty sea air, savouring the feeling of the warm sun on his skin. Then he dived swiftly and gracefully into the ocean’s cool embrace. As he did so, the water seemed to open up for him, to make space and draw him into its depths. He could see the creatures so clearly now, large and lumbering, yet so graceful, their long, low calls to one another like gentle, soothing music. “Welcome”, they said to him. “We’re so glad you could join us.”

Elkin looked down at his own body, moving freely through the water, marvelling as his arms and hands started to feel stronger and become more paddle-like. His torso began to elongate and develop fins, and his legs grew together into a long tail. He shook off the last vestiges of his former self as he transformed into who he truly was. He realised that he belonged to the sea, that he no longer needed to drift on the surface. His family was right here. Elkin reached out to the others and they swam together joyfully, communicating wordlessly as they spun, dived and tumbled in the current. There was so much more of the ocean to explore beneath the waves. Elkin was finally free. He was finally home.