Dugong

Once when I was swimming in a little bay in Vanuatu, a Dugong took an unnatural liking to me and amorously began to tow me out towards the open ocean with his little flippers clamped around my waist. This is a true story although I realise it sounds just like fiction. I was a little frightened by it and yet I was also excited by the oddness of the experience. Afterwards I wondered what would have happened if my husband hadn’t slapped at the water repeatedly causing the creature to back away. The locals suggested he was grieving for his lost mate and had tried to steal several women from the village. They said he wanted to steal them away to keep them as his wife.