ROW80 Update and the Mediterranean Monk Seal

uick post!

And quick ROW80 update, too.

Mainly because I've dropped most everything else and am forging ahead on the short story/novella I started a couple of weeks ago (original 900+ word version is in my previous post below).

Here are a few of the inspirational images I've collated on Pinterest:

And here's a brief snip, added to the story since my last post:

A hand reached down to take the snorkel, leaving me free to swing onto the ladder and climb up. It was Justin. He stood off to the side as I clambered onto the deck. I wrapped a towel around myself, debating. But there was nothing for it; I wanted to show off my photos and he was the only one not dozing in the sun or splashing around in the water on the other side of the boat. I could smell sizzling grilled meat and peppers, and one of the crew was laying a table for lunch.

“I saw a seal,” I said casually.

“Are you sure?”

His question caught me off guard, and I paused in the act of swinging the camera cord from around my neck. “I should think so.” I drew off the camera and adjusted my towel.

“You’re maybe luckier than you realise,” he said. “They’re rare around here.”

I switched on the camera and scrolled back through the photos, swaying slightly as the planks under our feet heaved in a sudden swell. Justin followed me over to a bench in the shade of an awning.

“Here he is.” I passed over the camera as he sat beside me, and pulled back slightly, combing my hair out with my fingers.

“It is!” he exclaimed, wide wonder coming into his face.

“Told you.”

“No, I mean, it’s a monk seal.” He inched the camera closer, inspecting the photo from all angles, then switching to the next. “A Mediterranean Monk Seal. There’re only 700 of them left in the wild.”

I was interested in spite of myself and leaned over to look at the seal’s face again. “I zoomed in. He wasn’t really that close.”

Justin craned his neck over the rail behind us. “Wonder if he’s still around. I’d like to get a sight of him.”

At that moment a shout rang out and a splash of seawater splattered over our shoulders.

Justin sank back onto the bench. “No chance, with the noise of this crowd.”

“Why do you know about these seals?” I glanced down at the shirt he hadn’t removed all morning. “You don’t quite seem the marine sort.”

“Ah, well, it was someone I used to know,” he said.

I didn’t glance up, but from his awkward tone, I figured there was a blush creeping across his cheeks. Though it shouldn’t matter to me to hear about former girlfriends.

The Mediterranean Monk Seal:

So cute!

Are you working on a new story or piece of art?

Which endangered animals are dearest to you?