underwater world immediately separates me from all my worries and cares.

The first thing I notice is the misshapen drops of silver mercury that drift up, and away, every time I exhale. I know that these are just air bubbles, but I still reach out to hold one as if it were a solid object. It bursts, of course, as soon as I touch it.

I am distracted by a shoal of fry that swim by. Their synchronised swim flows like a carefully choreographed ballet. They guide me to a mound of large rocks, where they leave me to explore on my own.

As I wonder around this marine community, I stop to watch the Sergeant Majors, in their black and gold striped uniforms, march back and forth, guarding the algae prisoners.

A tiny grey crab pops out of a minute crevice in the stone. His awkward sideways motion makes me smile to myself as he hurries across and disappears into another little crack.

I see the royal blue head of a parrot fish peeking out at me from around the corner. When I try to get a closer look, he swims away, so I continue my tour of the city.

A translucent sapphire anemone waves its slender tentacles at me as I swim to study a sizable, ivory brain coral. I decide that the finely detailed design on the coral is a miniature labyrinth where millions of microscopic organisms can be lost forever.

When I retrieve a delicate pink shell from the ocean floor, my fingertips sweep up a gust of sand -- a baby blizzard of fairy dust that settles gently, in drifts.

As I turn the shell over in my hand, I happen to glance at my watch. It is time to go.

Just before I make my exit, I turn around for one last look. As I scan the silent `society,' my shy friend appears before me, just as quickly as he disappeared earlier.

He gracefully swims back and forth, watching my every move. His fragile mosaic of scales displays every shimmering shade from the deepest indigo and emerald, to the brightest jade and turquoise.

The distorted rays of sunlight, highlights the subtle dashes of saffron and tangerine that decorate his back, belly and tail, encircling his smiling, purple eyes.

He turns and swims away -- and so do I.

GINA MINUGH Warwick Academy Age 14.