On the boat, Mick and Corky went quiet. The only sounds Cassie heard were the growl of the boat motor and a flock of gulls screeching overhead. She turned her face into the sea breeze and breathed in the salt air.

What secret were they keeping from her about her predecessor? "You can't just leave me hanging. What terrible thing happened to Scotty?"

Corky turned to Mick. "Should we tell her?"

Mick just shrugged.

"He suffered a fate worse than death," Corky said straight-faced. "He up and married my sister."

Both men burst out laughing.

Cassie groaned. "You're right, Ofelia, they are obnoxious."

"The two of them moved to Miami," Corky said.

"The east coast of Florida, ugh," Mick said. "That is indeed a fate worse than death."

Cassie saw a distant land mass off to port. "Is that Anclote Key?"

"Yes," Ofelia said.

Cassie watched as they passed by the three-mile long, pencil thin island. It looked overgrown and wild. A forlorn lighthouse stuck up near its southern tip. It didn't look like much. Why had her momma attached such a significance to the place?

They chatted about a half-hour longer until Ofelia interrupted them. "We're over the reef." She cut the engine.

Cassie faced forward and saw another boat like theirs about a hundred yards to port. Four men waved. Ofelia, Corky, and Mick waved back so Cassie joined in. "Who are they, competitors?"

"It's our sister vessel, another team of sponge divers. We work in pairs but try to stay out of each other's way. Another safety measure in case one of us develops engine trouble or encounters some other emergency."

"Safety in numbers," Cassie muttered. "I like it."

"My son is the boss of that crew," Ofelia added.

Cassie shielded her eyes from the sun reflecting off the water, but she couldn't make out the faces of the men on the other boat.

Mick who had been looking through the skopos said, "I see sponges but they're pretty sparse. Ofelia, you may want to drift a bit to starboard.

Cassie joined the two men as they peered through the glass-bottomed bucket while Ofelia made minor course adjustments.

"Here we go!" Mick yelled. "Hippospongia mostly grade B with some mature grade A mixed in. Stop the boat and drop anchor."

Ofelia powered off the engine.

The fleshy, tan sponges growing on the reef weren't very colorful, but she recognized them as the kind most sought after in the tourist shops. "What makes them so special?"

"Their softness and porosity," Corky explained. "Many sponges are stiff and brittle, but not this particular variety. You'll feel the differences once you get down there and gain a little experience."

Now that they were at full stop, the boat began to rock with the swell of the waves. Cassie grasped the gunwale to steady herself. "I don't get sick, but it'll take me a few minutes to get my sea legs. I'm more comfortable in the water than on it."

Ofelia rubbed a spec from the front of her dive mask. "I want you to dive fourth. You can watch and see what we do. Please remember when you harvest the sponges to use your machairi to cut an inch or two above the base where it attaches to the sea floor. That ensures it will continue to live. Sponges are a crop just like any other. If you leave the stem behind, it'll grow back within three to five years."

A few minutes later, Ofelia took a few deep breaths and lowered herself into the Gulf. Cassie admired the older woman's form as she glided beneath the waves. They watched her through the skopos as she found a large specimen and quickly cut through the stem. She deposited the sponge in a mesh net she carried. She managed to cultivate a half-dozen fine specimens before surfacing.

After catching her breath, Ofelia looked at Corky. "You're up."

Corky pulled his mask down over his face and flashed the peace sign. He took to the water.

Watching through the skopos, Cassie thought his form wasn't as graceful as Ofelia's, but she knew men in general weren't as graceful as women, so it wasn't his fault. He broke the surface less than two minutes later with seven sponges, but they weren't as big as Ofelia's bounty.

Mick went next. He returned with five sponges of respectable size.

Finally, it was her turn. Ofelia reminded her, "Remember, don't overtax yourself. This is a marathon and not a sprint."

Cassie checked the seal around her face mask and gave her crew the thumbs up. She gulped air, then stepped down the ladder into the water. She kicked straight down to the bottom, about twenty feet, she estimated. A school of colorful, tropical fish darted out of her path. For a moment, she lost herself watching them and forgot her purpose. She snapped out of her reverie and pulled Uncle Milos's machairi from the scabbard secured to her leg.

A small sponge caught her eye, not nearly as big as what Ofelia harvested, but she figured she had to start somewhere. It surprised Cassie how easily she was able to saw through the fibers. She remembered to leave a stem and popped it into the mesh net attached to her waist.

Cassie glanced around and found a few more specimens that were larger and harvested them. She could've stayed down a lot longer and wanted to stay down longer, but out of respect for her boss, she headed back up.

Ofelia met her on the deck with a stopwatch as she climbed aboard. "That's two minutes twenty seconds. Remember what I told you and come back up sooner next time."

Cassie pulled the mask from her face. "I'm not even winded."

"I don't care," Ofelia said with a scowl. "You won't be able to keep up that pace all morning and will eventually tire out. There's a reason we have rules, and I expect you to follow them."

Embarrassed over being chewed out, Cassie lowered her gaze to the deck of the boat. "Yes, ma'am."

While Ofelia took her second turn, Cassie unloaded her harvested sponges into the storage bin.

Corky approached her and murmured. "The boss doesn't like it when we show off."

"Thanks for letting me know. I'll cool it."

On her subsequent dives, Cassie behaved and remained focused on her job. By noon, she had gathered an impressive haul of sponges, equal to her co-workers. They all told her she did well. She felt proud.

"Let's wrap it up," Ofelia said.

Cassie didn't get it. "But it's only lunchtime."

"We work half days. You're more tired than you realize. A few hours freediving is more than most people can handle."

Speak for yourself, she thought. I'm just now getting warmed up.

"Have you ever driven a boat?" Ofelia asked.

"I don't have a driver's license."

"You need to learn in case of emergency. It's another safety measure. C'mon, I'll teach you."

Cool! She was going to get to drive the boat.

After they weighed anchor, Ofelia turned the key to start the motor. "It's pretty basic, steering wheel and throttle." She pointed to a display on the dash. "It's a GPS that will guide you back to the harbor. Just follow the indicator on the display but don't stare at it. You'll need to keep an eye on the water for other boats and obstacles."

It looked easy enough.

Ofelia pushed the throttle to half speed and the boat surged forward. "Take the wheel."

Cassie did so and followed the indicator on the display. Their sister boat led the way in the distance.

"Good," Ofelia said. "I'm going to measure and separate the sponges while you steer the boat. Just keep doing what you're doing. I'll take over when we approach the harbor."

At first, it was exciting and fun. After ten minutes, Cassie grew bored. There really wasn't anything to do but keep the boat going in a straight line. She basked in the sea breeze tossing her wet braids behind her shoulders and breathed in the fresh, crisp air.

I'm free, she thought. I'm on my own and I have a job, a purpose. In her peripheral vision she caught sight of Anclote Key and its old lighthouse. Her mind wandered as she recalled the sensation of diving for sponges, becoming one with the sea.

Someone whispered, "Sirena."

Cassie glanced back at her crew. All of them were busy. "What did you say?"

They looked at her. Mick shrugged, "Nobody said anything."

Must be the wind.

A few minutes later, she daydreamed about swimming about the reef like a fish without ever having to surface for air. How awesome would that be?

"Sirena." A whisper hissed in her ears.

"What?" She turned.

Ofelia looked up. "We didn't say anything."

Maybe the boss was right. She might be more tired than she realized. So tired. Her eyes grew heavy and she closed them.

"Sirena."

"Sirena."

"Cassie, what the hell are you doing?"

Ofelia shoved her aside. She pulled back on the throttle and spun the wheel.

Cassie gasped. She had been steering them head-on toward the shallows at Anclote Key. Another few seconds she would have beached them.

Question - For the first time, Cassie heard the call from the sea, but she almost wrecked the boat. Do you think Ofelia will fire her?

Top photo credit: myfrozenlife http://www.flickr.com/photos/7366969@N02/16551377773 via photopin.comCreativecommons.org license