Night falls.
I wait, huddled with others.
Will the leatherback come forth from the sea?
1400 pounds of love repeating a life cycle.
Hours pass, stars shimmer.
A vague figure appears in the water.
At last she makes her presence.
Slowly, slowly La Tortuga lumbers up the beach.
Imagine her mission:
To lay 150 eggs, bury them in the sand.
Do NOT scare her with flashlight or voice.
Pray no bird, no raccoon will see
Mission accomplished,
She slowly returns to the ocean.
Never to cradle her offspring.
I sleep, I swim, I snorkel, I walk, I email my offspring …
With good luck, the eggs remain buried for 50 days.
Time continues … Life continues…
At last the eggs hatch.
Babies scamper to the water.
Pray no bird, no raccoon will see them
Imagine 5 ounces confronted by a 4 foot wave!
One by one, babies enter the ocean.
No, mother, no life preserver … repeating a life cycle.
While we swaddle, protect, nurture, email our own.
Which will be the one baby to survive?
