We were snorkeling in Mangrove Bay

The scene was spectacular in a fanciful way

I had my black wetsuit and fins

From a pink catamaran we jumped right in

That turquoise water was mesmerizing

My husband, my dad, and I found it so exciting

Yellow sun made it bright

We headed for the massive rocks poking out of the water – what a sight

In no time we were 400 meters out

Faces dipped in the water, floating on top

It was a quiet paradise: clear water with rainbows of fish

Being there was my greatest wish

When I popped up for a minute I heard someone shout,

“Medical emergency, come back to the boat!”

They waved us to come

But all we wanted was more of that hum – under the water with a snorkel sticking up

Through a 12-hour flight and thousands of dollars, a medical emergency would be my luck

The crew called through a megaphone, “Come back to the boat!”

But to stay I’d never taken an oath

The three of us looked at each other as some other passengers headed back

One of them, swimming off, said, “I think that passenger guy had a heart attack”

The sun was bright

The air smelled like salt

We all bobbed in the water, we felt so light

I thought, The medical issue may have been that guy’s own fault

I remembered seeing one guy smoking on the dock before we left

We knew the catamaran couldn’t leave the scene without us

But they were facing death

The crew yelled, “Last call, come back to the boat – emergency!”

My dad told the last passenger who was swimming back, “Let them go without me”

“Me too,” my husband said, then he put his mask back on and bowed his head

“Me three,” I replied

Glad I had my best friends by my side

In a few minutes that catamaran sailed off

We remained in the bay

Snorkeling, smiling, the sun shining

In heaven’s trough

We watched all species of fish dart around

Under that turquoise water we could barely hear the world’s sounds

I looked at a large shadow on the bay’s floor

That white sand whirled

Tons of fish swirled, like lit by a spark

Then a sea turtle

Then a huge tiger shark

We all huddled in the cut of a rock

We saw more than we’d hoped

Kept snorkeling a few more hours

I’m so glad we didn’t go back to the boat