w.atching the w.orld unw.ind

I wasn’t the only guy there, that night – lots of people had paid big bucks to watch her ‘perform’. And although this famous local diva was notorious for failing to show up, we all prayed individually to have satisfaction this time around. So, crouched in our personal darkness, we craned forward, hoping to be the first to catch a glimpse of her.

It was an almost bestial atmosphere …

Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw the stagelights * reflecting off of her enormous white belly, as she glided into the arena. Circulating haughtily around the assembled audience, she seemed to spot me among the throng and headed towards me. Her huge mouth hung slack as she approached but passing me by, she just ruffled my hair. I was close enough to reach out and caress her body but her sheer size rendered me catatonic and I almost forgot to breathe.

Disappearing behind me, she suddenly turned and floated past me again, back into the spotlights. There, without warning, she was joined by another female and they began a slow, sensuous dance, narrowly brushing each others’ body like a choreographed air-kiss.

But none of us could stay watching forever, so in ones and twos we drifted back to our boats, where we stripped off our kit and sat recounting the memory of what we’d witnessed.

Yep, manta rays are pretty awesome creatures.

Now I’m as shameless as an un-nominated Jonathan Woss at an awards ceremony, so hie thee to Uborka and recommend me for December’s “Post of the Month”.

To receive blogging’s equivalent of the “Christmas single” in my first year would only be fitting, don’cha think? And besides, Scaryduck’s already got more plaudits than Ant and Dec.

* Bright light attracts clouds of plankton, which manta feed on. Here endeth the marine biology lesson