The Music of the Reef

The Music of the Reef

I thought it would be quiet lying there on the sand,
two hundred yards offshore and ninety feet
underwater. I assumed it would be silent except for
the rhythm of my breath. Once I settled
motionless on the bottom, the mechanical click-
whoosh-gurgle of my breathing receded and the
music of the reef swelled. Around me I heard the
click-whirr of my dive partner’s camera, the pop of
tiny shrimp claws snapping to subdue prey, the
crunch of parrotfish eating coral. A rhythmic chiming
captured my attention. Nothing I saw moved in
concert with it. One glance at the surface gave me
the answer. The music matched the march of the
ocean swells. All that distance from shore, so far
beneath the surface, I heard the enchanting melody
made by broken pieces of coral rolling in the surf--
ocean chimes tinkling like glass in the breeze.