A Stop Within the Stars 停留星海

陳佳

The sense of coolness on my skin shocked me fully awake. My body floated in an amazing space. I was weightless. Nothing bound me down， not even gravity1. For once in my life， I felt free. Stars were everywhere， filling up all of the space around me. A sense of wonder filled my mind， as it always does when Im in the sea， submerged2 deep under the rolling waves. Scuba diving3 always contains thrill4， however， with the sun setting， casting5 red， orange and pink streams of light through the water， the glow6 worms gathering all around， glowing brightly， like falling stars. The water developed a new sense of wonder， and the underwater world was expanding rapidly in my mind.

At first， you were breathless. The shock of water was rushing up against your skin， the sense of weightlessness was taking you， and the underlying beauty of the world was lying right in front of you. And then， with the first breath， everything crystallized7. The water was as clear as a diamond. The fish swam along in swarms8， bending and turning with the current9. The beauty of this underwater world was overwhelming10.

My first night dive was a breathless， overwhelming experience， one that held my eyes and brain hostage11 from all other thought the whole while. The beauty that I saw that night stayed with me， and I learned that we are all a small blip12 in a larger universe， and we are all a part of something greater than ourselves.

The first half of the dive was done in the dying rays of sunlight， with colorful refracted13 light all around. It seemed as if we were swimming through a kaleidoscope14. There were so many creatures coming out or going to sleep. Baby octopus15， squid16， nurse sharks， puffer17 fish， lobsters18， and many more. Viewing them in their natural habitat19 was wonderful. I moved my hands and head as a way of telling my dad （designated20 dive buddy for that night） many times， pointing out many sights， like the local dolphins that joined us and swam next to us for some time， or a lionfish here and there. This arrangement ended up having me basically drag him behind me in my excitement. Im sure he was angry with me even before we were halfway through the dive.

Then it was the true purpose of the night dive. When the suns last rays disappear， like dying rays of hope， the whole group spiraled21 down to the bottom of the sea， and turned off the lights we dove down with， submerging us in darkness. But the darkness didnt last long. One by one， little lights flickered22 on all around us. The glow worms had come. Everything faded away， and my dad， kneeled next to me. The rest of the divers were all in a circle on the seafloor. All that was real to me in this moment were the lights. The little lights of hope were slowly coming， all around us. To divers， in moments like those， it seems that when we turn the lights off， the world comes on.

A whole new underwater world came into view. Some octopuses glowed， and fish darted23 past， with little fins24 on their backs lighting up. And the glow worms surrounded everything. It seemed to me， as if I was in the very depths of space. If I just reached out， I could hold a star in my hand， could feel its warmth on my face， could reach planets far away， all while in that single spot， in that single moment， when the world came on.

Deep under the rolling waves of the seas and oceans， there is a vastly undiscovered world， one filled with wonder and light， but also with darkness. You can witness25 things that will be gone in the blink of an eye to the universe， but they will remain within you forever. At that one moment， everything is in focus without really being seen. At that moment， your mind races， trying desperately26 to link the dots， to comprehend this beautiful thing you are seeing. That is the extent of what can be seen underwater. And you get the feeling that no matter where you are， or what you are witnessing， and no matter how small you feel， you will always be a part of something bigger. You just have to wait for your moment， when you see the world turn on.

皮膚上的涼意使我完全清醒了。我的身體漂浮在一個神奇的空間里。我的身體就像沒有重量，沒有什么束縛我，甚至連重力也沒有。生命中僅此一次，我感到了自由。星星到處都是，填滿了我周圍的空間。當(dāng)我在大海中，潛入滾滾波濤的深處時，我的腦海中始終充滿了一種驚奇的感覺。水肺潛水總是包含著刺激，然而，隨著夕陽落下，投下紅色、橙色和粉色的光線穿過水面，發(fā)光的蟲聚集在四周，發(fā)出明亮的光芒，就像流星一樣。水中顯出了一種新的驚奇感，水下世界的樣子在我的腦海里迅速擴展開來。

一開始，你喘不過氣來。水正沖擊著你的皮膚，失重的感覺正攫住你，世界潛藏著的美就在你面前。然后，隨著第一次呼吸，一切都變成了水晶。海水如鉆石般清澈。魚兒成群結(jié)隊地游來游去，隨著水流時而拐彎時而掉頭。這個水下世界的美麗令人無法抗拒。

我的第一次夜間潛水是一次令人喘不過氣來、無法抗拒的經(jīng)歷，是一次自始至終從其他所有思緒中挾制住了我的眼睛和大腦的經(jīng)歷。那天晚上我看到的美景一直令我難以忘懷，而我明白了，我們都是更寬闊的宇宙中的一個小光點，我們都是比自己更偉大的存在的一部分。

潛水的前半程是在逐漸減弱的陽光下完成的，四周折射出五顏六色的光。這就像是我們在萬花筒里游泳。那樣多的生物要么出來要么睡去。有小章魚、魷魚、護(hù)士鯊、河豚、龍蝦等等。在它們的自然棲息地觀賞它們簡直棒極了。……