Going Up

I decided to go up to land for the first time in a while.

The meeting place was a shallow ascent point.

The people who had arrived before me were taking their land footwear out of bags and checking how much remained in their breathing tanks.

That day’s point was a grassy place beyond the breakwater.

The guide reminded us not to stand up right away after surfacing.

“Put your hands down first. Do not try to hold yourself up with your legs alone.”

My wrist device showed land time, altitude, air temperature, and humidity.

At the ascent point, a gentle slope led up to land.

I followed the guide toward the surface.

The light drew closer, and the sound grew thin.

When my face came out, there was wind.

It was different from a current. It did not push my body. It only brushed past the outside of me.

As more of my body rose out of the water, my own weight gradually increased.

The guide was already at the top of the slope, standing lightly, as if he lived on land all the time.

I climbed up slowly and put on my footwear one side at a time.

When I stood, the ground did not move.

Little by little, I remembered the feeling of not being carried anywhere.

We crossed the breakwater and came out onto the grass.

A dry sound came from under my feet.

A small insect jumped, and a bird’s call fell from above.

Sounds that did not pass through water had strangely clear edges.

From time to time, the guide told us the names of insects and birds.

We rested after climbing a small slope.

I slowly lay on my back.

The weight of my body settled through my back into the ground.

I could see the whole sky.

The sky is beautiful when seen from under the sea too. It trembles at the surface, and the light comes undone as it falls.

But the sky on land did not ripple.

It stretched clear and pale without end, and only the clouds drifted without swimming.

Below us, the sea spread out.

It was the place where I always lived, but from above it looked like nothing more than a shining surface.

A land bird might never know there were roads and houses beneath it.

Before heading back, I looked at my wrist device.

Land time 24 min
Max altitude 9 m
Air temperature 24°C
Humidity 46%

It felt strange that only 24 minutes had passed.

On the way back to the slope, I did not say much.

When I returned to the water, my body became light again.

The sounds grew round, and the smell of grass quickly moved away.

When I looked back, land was only a thin wavering line beyond the surface.

That night, before falling asleep, I remembered the sky I had seen from the grass.

I wanted to go up again soon.