Hope

Manatees slept along the bottom as I floated quietly among cypress roots. Fog hugged the surface as rays of light peeked between dark tree trunks. I waited.

Eventually a large, very pregnant cow glanced my way. Slowly….slowly….ever so slowly….she swam toward me. I remained motionless except for the finger on my left hand that began the video and my right index finger that pulled the lever on my underwater camera housing.

I stayed in the stillness of my heart while sending as much love as I could to her. She had survived at least one encounter with a boat propeller and had lived long enough to reproduce. She gave me hope for this sacred species.