All Roads Lead to Revelations

Slipping below the water, I immediately felt the cold-water rush across my face as I began to descend into the pool. The weight of my body became naught as I floated effortlessly just below the surface. Hearing the sounds of breathing through the regulator brought back many memories of previous dives. Just as the others had said, everything was coming back to me. It was then when I again felt the total freedom of movement in all directions. What a liberating feeling.

I took a deep breath and took a quick look at my surroundings. As I started to look around, I felt a tap on my shoulder from behind. It was Doctor Kokomi swimming right behind me. Upon facing her, she wrapped me up in an underwater hug. I’ve never felt an underwater hug before. It is quite a strange feeling. I could see the emotions through her mask that she had been waiting for this moment for a lot longer than I realized.

I had no idea I was that special to her. I attempted to go to the far recesses of my mind to remember who she was. Alas, nothing came to mind. Could she maybe have been an old family friend? I feel a little bad that I don’t remember who Doctor Kokomi was considering how nice she was being to me.

Releasing me from the hug, Kokomi and I locked eyes and she gestured for me to follow her lower into the pool. Before I even had time to think about what she was asking me to do, she was nowhere to be seen. In an instant, she had moved so quickly away from me. The way she moved underwater made it look so effortless, it was as if she was born underwater.

I raised my hands up and with a little less grace than Kokomi, began to match her depth in the pool. Kokomi then winked at me through her goggles and outstretched her hand to the side. I was slightly perplexed as to what she was doing and then in another instant, she was gone yet again. As my eyes adjusted, I saw that she was now holding on tightly to a dolphin, gliding elegantly through the water.

Seeing her swim with these amazing creatures up close in the water is an even more mesmerizing experience than watching through a glass panel. Watching the doctor and the dolphin swiftly float along the water I honestly didn’t know what to think. I just can’t believe that this is really happening to me today!

After completing a full lap around the pool, she returned to where I was floating and let go of the dolphin. I couldn’t hold my surprise and disbelief at how natural that had looked. It is clear, she had been doing this for years. She proceeded over to my side and then grabbed my left arm holding it outward.

Immediately, I felt the fin of a dolphin fill my palm. I felt my eyes widen as I realized what the doctor was doing. She was trying to get me to ride a dolphin! As my hand clenched around the dolphin’s dorsal fin, I was immediately launched for my own ride around the pool. Even though the lap was less than a few seconds, it felt like time had slowed down. I can’t remember the last time I was enjoying myself this much!

As I was returning back to Kokomi, I let go of the fin and went tumbling through the water before coming to a stop upside down next to Kokomi. I could tell by the trail of bubbles from her regulator that she was laughing at me. I couldn’t blame her though as that definitely wasn’t as elegant as her underwater performance.

Turning myself right-side-up and starting to laugh; Kokomi motioned at her watch before signalling that it was time to head back to the surface. Although I didn’t want this experience to end, I knew I couldn’t breathe down here forever. I held up an OK signal before we both started to ascend slowly to the surface.

Breaking through the surface I immediately felt the warm air brush against my face. The sun appeared to be getting close to setting. We must have been in the pool much longer than I thought! Removing the regulator from my mouth, I began to swim over to the side of the pool. When Kokomi made it to the edge of the pool, Toya was there to greet her and lift her out of the pool.

As I reached the edge, Kokomi reached down and pulled me from the water. Toya took the mask and scuba tank from Kokomi and me before again disappearing off to the back area.

“So, Kayo, how was that? I bet you weren’t expecting to swim today, were you? I know how stressful it is to come to a new place so I thought it would be nice to make you forget your nerves and just enjoy yourself!

“That was a blast! It’s been so long since I’ve been in the water, and I had no idea just how much I missed it! Being so up close and personal with the dolphins was such an amazing experience. I don’t think I can describe how happy it made me feel!”

I couldn’t think of any other way to describe how the whole experience had made me feel. Judging by the large grin forming on Kokomi’s face, it was the reaction she was hoping for!

“Now, we have a lot to discuss before you head back home today. Why don’t you go and take a shower and I will meet you near the entrance?”

Kokomi turned and started to walk off as Toya returned with towels for the both of us.

“By the way, make sure to check the locker room. I’m sure something is waiting for you there. I’ll see you soon.”

With that, Doctor Kokomi Mizushima had made one of the most dramatic entrances into my life that I have ever seen.

Toya showed me to the showers, and I began to digest everything that had just happened. The smile never left my face the entire time...

Finishing up my shower, my mind began to drift again. The more time I spend here, the more my mind started to think how much better it is here than at my desk back in Tokyo. I felt I really enjoyed being in the water again and after no more than a few seconds- I felt like I had never left. Back in Tokyo, I can’t really remember a lot of positive memories now that I think of it.

After drying myself and brushing my hair, I wrapped the towel around me and walked into the locker room area. I wasn’t sure what Doctor Kokomi meant when she said something was waiting for me. Along the rows of lockers was a section of oversized large lockers, easily four to five times the size of all the other lockers. I saw a sticky note with my name on it. Pulling the note off the door it read:

Kayo,

This is your locker now. Everything you will need is here. Enjoy!

Kokomi Mizushima

They really have gone to every length to accommodate me from the beginning. I continue to doubt why I’m worth all this effort, but I will just have to wait and see what the doctor has in store for me.

I was not prepared for what was inside the locker at all. Inside was a full assortment of new diving gear, wetsuits, and clothes. Both lab clothes and aquarium uniforms, all courtesy of the aquarium. I couldn’t believe how much stuff was inside and this was all for me?! I just couldn’t wrap my head around all of this!

I got dressed in the aquarium clothes in the locker and made myself ready to head outside. All dressed and ready to go, I closed the locker and grabbed the key, and locked the door. For a second, I just stopped and stared at the key. Soon I quickly pocketed the keys and headed outside to meet with Kokomi.

Walking out of the locker room dressed in new aquarium branded clothes honestly felt quite natural which startled me a little. Twenty-four hours ago, I was arriving in Kamogawa with the explicit intent of having an interview to satisfy my curiosity of having a life outside the one that was built for me in Tokyo. I had no expectations of what was really going to happen here! Should I even consider going back to Tokyo at all? This is a difficult decision and I better speak with Doctor Kokomi a little more.

On my way towards the entrance, I spotted Doctor Kokomi leaning on a railing looking out over the ocean. That was one of my personal favorite parts of the park. The aquarium is built only forty meters from the ocean, right on the edge of the beach. This spot looks straight east off the coast of Japan. Nothing but the ocean as far as the eye can see.

It is truly a spectacular spot to sit and collect your thoughts. I started walking over towards Kokomi and placed my bag down against the fence.

“It’s beautiful isn't it Kayo? I never get tired of looking out at this expansive view. There is still so much left to explore in this world.”

Looking over at Kokomi, I could see she had an almost fulfilled look on her face. It was as if she had finally done something after years of thinking about it. You could tell what she said came straight from the heart.

“I know you must have so many questions for me so feel free to ask away.”

I pondered for a second on the question. I don’t even know what to ask first. I looked directly at the doctor.

“Doctor Kokomi, why me? I have no formal background in marine sciences, I haven’t lived near the ocean since I was in middle school, and I am just nothing special. I heard that this position is highly coveted and after that email I sent you… I need to apologize for that.”

Kokomi turned to face me and let out a small chuckle.

“That’s the question you decide to begin with? I thought you’d ask about the role I’d hired you for. You truly are different than I expected but that’s a good thing.”

“I’ll be honest, I thought I was coming down here for an interview and that’s the reason I came down in the first place. I already have a life and a job in Tokyo albeit not one I enjoy but one that I am already committed to. I came here to satisfy the voice inside my head that longed for a dream I had a long time ago. I had no idea you had already chosen me.”

“I think it’s best to answer all these questions together. Firstly, regarding the email you sent me while you were drunk.”

I got a little red at the thought of that. How did she know right away?! I think Kokomi could tell I got nervous, and she put her arm around me and looked me in the eyes

“Nothing to worry about! It’s quite alright! I could also see you had poured your heart into the email. Regardless of the sloppy grammar and let’s say late arrival time of said email.”

She paused for a moment and looked out over the ocean. I could tell she was almost looking into the past at a different memory.

“I’m also surprised you don’t remember me at all. Let me give you a little story then. I started working at the aquarium as an assistant just like the role you’re being offered. I was so nervous about fitting in because I was always a go-with-the-flow kind of person and never one to follow the rules.

My first few months were rough getting to know the aquarium. I loved marine life but the Doctor at the time wasn’t too excited for me to help with his research. He begrudgingly took me on as an assistant, but my role was nothing more than a glorified feeder for the animals. I honestly didn’t like it at all. I honestly thought about getting a new job and moving on.

That was until a young middle school girl came to the aquarium. Whenever I was around, she would come and watch in wonder as I worked. Whenever I would do a speech about a certain exhibition, she would be there right in the front row. Almost every day I would see her over the summer. Until towards the end of summer she came up to me to tell me she would be moving away and that she couldn’t come to the aquarium anymore.

She said to me that she never wanted to forget the aquarium and that one day her goal was to become someone who worked with animals as well as helped explore the oceans. Seeing her childhood optimism throughout the summer holidays made my first few months more than enjoyable.

It was then I offered her a deal. ‘Then, why don’t you come work with me when you get older. We can go and explore the ocean together. How does that sound?’

Seeing the little girl's eyes light up at the offer still to this day keeps my head held high. Somehow a promise I made to a little girl has driven my career for so long. After that, I never saw that girl again, but I did get her name before she left. Do you want to guess who that girl was?”

I was speechless. I had no recollection of such an event. I remember coming to the aquarium every day during the holidays, but I had no recollection of such a promise. Many of my memories of my life down in Kamogawa have washed away, almost like they were taken out with the tide of the ocean as I lived most of my life in Tokyo. I guess my few positive memories of the aquarium were my only happy childhood memories. I wonder why I couldn’t remember the promise I had made with Kokomi...

There was nothing more I could say. I was in utter shock.

“I have to say, seeing your reaction Kayo, it is a little disheartening seeing that you don’t remember our little promise. However, somehow fate brought us back together and now we’re here! When I saw your email, I was settling down to sleep and woke right up. When I saw your email address and what you said about living in Kamogawa when you were younger, I knew it was you. I went and searched your professional profile online and was a little disappointed when I saw you hadn’t done marine studies but instead followed the business path.

This however didn’t deter me from still offering you an interview. It’s true you don’t have the studies, but I still remember the young girl who couldn’t take her eyes off what was in front of her while at the aquarium. I wanted to see for myself if that passion was still inside you after all these years. I also noted that on your profile you had been in the diving club while in high school. I guess some of your love continued with you when you went to Tokyo.

So, I devised the idea with the dolphins. That was the interview for you Kayo. I wanted to see how you would react to being thrown into an environment you had once longed for and see if you still had the fire and passion for it. I guess my hunch was correct.

The way your face lit up was just like it was all those years ago. I couldn’t be happier, it brought back so many great memories for me. I can help train you here and I can see you have a passion to learn. However, I know you have said that you already built a life up in Tokyo, so what is it that you want to do?”

This woman just really laid out everything in front of me and read me like an open book. She had meticulously planned everything to perfection and now here she was asking for my final decision. I’m even more unsure of what I want to do. This seems like a golden opportunity but what would everyone back in Tokyo say?

“Doctor Kokomi, I’m so sorry that I had forgotten what I had promised you all those years ago. I really wish I could remember it but after all those years it must have slipped my mind. Even so, you are correct, my passion for the ocean has never died and I have missed this place dearly for all my life.

It’s true that I have built a life in Tokyo but in all honesty it’s a life that was built for me by my parents, not one I built for myself. Ever since I left university, I have been studying and researching about the ocean in secret. I guess some things never go away, no matter how hard you try.

Initially I came down here as I had been given some time off from work and after I saw your email, I thought I would come down here to satisfy my curiosity. I am just a little unsure of what to think of all of this. After today, I feel I’m even more at a crossroads of what I should do.

Please don’t feel like I am not grateful for this opportunity. I am very appreciative of all you have done for me today; it was simply spectacular. I would just like to ask you one thing. I have two weeks before I need to be back in Tokyo but after today, I want to see what this world is like.

Can you promise me that after two weeks we revisit this decision if I will stay here or not? I’m just really unsure if I can leave behind my life and start fresh on a snap decision. I need time to think but also time to explore what life might be like. Can we make that work?”

I could see Kokomi think for a second before her face began to brighten after she had processed everything I had said.

“I would be delighted with that idea”

As the sun began to set and the sky was filled with an array of colors, we both looked at each other and smiled. We both thought about what events would happen in the next two weeks but there is no doubt that they would be life changing. The doctor broke the silence and happily said:

“Now, why don’t you head home and get some rest? We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow and I need my new assistant fresh for everything to come tomorrow?

Walking out of the front gates after everyone had left the aquarium and one of the most eventful days of my life I was filled with a sense of anticipation. I can’t wait to see what lies on the horizon.