Chapter 1

The endless sea and its eternal blue. Here, in this pleasant sanctuary, I always feel safe, protected and peaceful. It is my aquatic refuge, my private domain, the centre of my life.

Beside me, I can see the comforting immensity which trusts me and its reassuring presence eases me. My cocoon, my salt and refreshing cocoon. Without you, I am nothing, empty, alone, void.

You have welcomed me, embraced me as your true child, and I would not be surprised if my blood was the colour of a turquoise ink. I am melting into your wide universe like an atom so intimately bound to you and I am really grateful for your keen acceptance.

Lector, I am sure you think that to have that sort of bond with the marine element is strange or crazy, but in our village, this essential link with the sea is very widespread.

In fact, it is quite normal for a village of fishermen, where ours lives are usually regulated by the rising and ebbing tides and hopefully by the repetitive fines catches.

However, there is one exception: my mother. Inside her, this close tie does not exist or, more accurately, cannot exist. One fateful night, when I was a child, my father never came back, swept away by the current in a tempest.

My mother could not forgive, and, since, she hates passionately the jealous and heartless sea which has taken away her beloved husband. When you belong to the sea, there is no sharing. My mother has learned indeed a cruel lesson and that is why she does not want me to become a fisherman.

I have few memories of my father. I only remembered a kind and generous man, with broad shoulders, always affectionate towards his family. His tenderness was overwhelming and caring. I am still feeling the bristly kiss he usually gave me before going deep-sea fishing.

This man is dead. I cannot deny such a loss, but I do not hate the sea, contrary to my mother. My secret wish is to be here for ever, my mother too, but for other reasons: how can she leave the place where her husband died? How can she leave a place connected to the fragments of a tragic past?

No, I cannot hate my natural mother. The endless sea has always fascinated me. Its soft waves give me lingering wet kisses, and when I immerse myself in this soothing world, I feel its warm and cold embrace.

A world and its treasures. I notice the small shellfish which are partially buried in the sand, fearful crabs running off as I approach, the salty air, long seaweeds and the setting sun. It is time to go back home.