DANESH was the only son of Vishnu and Seeta Ramotar. There were three girls older than he, and three younger. Everyone called him ‘Snakie’, because he liked to catch snakes and scare the girls with them. He was in Form Three, but hardly attended school. Most days found him swimming in the dark, mauby-coloured water of the conservancy. Everyone called this body of water ‘Black Tide’.

Many elderly villagers tried to advise ‘Snakie’ about his truant ways, but he ignored them all. He loved swimming in the cold, dark water; it was as if it called to him. It seemed that he and the water had a spiritual connection. If he dreamt the water was rough, then he was in for a bad day. The only time he felt happy and at peace was when he was in the water. When his parents found out, they, too, tried to change his behaviour, but without success. He continued on his merry ways.
One afternoon, ‘Snakie’ did not come home. After it got dark, his parents began to fear the worst. Next day, the entire community organized themselves into search parties and scoured the village, looking for the missing lad. He could not be found. After two days of searching, they gave up. The boy was declared dead after a month. Everyone returned to their normal routine. Soon, the wayward kid was forgotten.

Prodigious return
Six months after his disappearance, the boy walked into the village. He looked dazed and puzzled. Many questions were hurled at him, but he did not respond, not because he did not want to, but because he could not remember anything for the last six months.
His family was delighted to see him. He ate heartily, and then slept for twenty-four hours. ‘Snakie’ soon developed a new habit: He would leave home early each morning, and return late in the afternoon. When his parents enquired about his whereabouts, he explained that he could not tell them.
“I made a promise; it’s something I cannot tell.”
Reluctantly, they accepted his refusal to divulge, but they were very curious as to where he went, and what he did all day. Mr. Ramotar decided to pay one of the youngsters in the village to follow him the next day.
The following morning, ‘Snakie’ set out early. Walking briskly, he headed straight for the bush. Gavin followed. The lad walked into a clump of bush; so did Gavin.  Entering at the same point as ‘Snakie’, he looked around to see where he was, but his quarry had disappeared. Embarrassed, Gavin returned to ‘Snakie’s  anxious father to tell him that he had failed the mission.
Next day, however, he was ready. He hid close to ‘Black Tide’, sure that the lad was heading there. Sure enough, ‘Snakie’ arrived, and walked swiftly past Gavin’s hiding place. Gavin followed him, making sure he was not detected. As before, his quarry headed straight for the black water, and, taking off his clothes, dived right into it.

Mysterious companion
Gavin watched, smiling to himself. It looked as though ‘Snakie’ was having a nice splash. He was just about to step out of hiding and join his friend for a swim when he received a nasty shock. From somewhere beneath the murky water, another figure joined ‘Snakie’. She was beautiful, and had long black hair. They swam and played for a while, then, with a flip, they both dove from view. Gavin was in a state of total confusion. He waited for them to surface, but they did not. With heart racing, he sprinted back to the village to relate this strange development to ‘Snakie’s father.
Mr. Ramotar and a few other villagers ran to ‘Black Tide’. They searched and searched but could not locate his son. Tired and distressed, he returned to the villager with his friends. He gave a heavy sigh. His family would have to mourn a second time for the same person. Later that afternoon, in the midst of plans and preparation for the wake, ‘Snakie’ walked in, smiling.
This time, everyone descended on him with questions and threats. He had better start talking! Or else! He stubbornly continued to maintain his secrecy, and this enraged his family. They became hostile, and eventually gave him strict marching orders.
“Get out! And don’t come back!”
‘Snakie’ promptly moved into an old abandoned building owned by his family. The villagers gave him no peace. They were determined to discover his secret, one way or another. His life became very, very difficult.
Himara is a fishing village. The villagers depend on catching and selling fish for their livelihood. All along the beach and waterways were boats, nets, floats and engines. Every day, they worked hard at their trade, but catches were becoming smaller and smaller. They were all hoping for a change of fortune; a day of a big catch.
From the moment they began to abuse Danesh, their luck took a turn for the worst. The fishermen found nets destroyed, floats and lines missing, and boats capsized. Pretty soon, they began to fear going out on the water. Each trip ended in disappointment.

Licks like peas
It was old Chetram who stumbled upon the answer. One day, he decided to make the youth talk. Each time he hit ‘Snakie’, he asked a question.
Ply!
“Tell me wheh yuh does guh every day?”
Silence.
Wax!
“Who yuh does meet?”
No answer.
Crack!
“How yuh could stay under water suh laang?”
Tears, but no response.
The licks did not seem to budge the boy; all he did was cry and shake his head.
“Y’all will never catch more fish till everyone  stop beating me.”
Chetram was about to hit ‘Snakie’ again, but this stopped him in his tracks. Could this be true? He hastened to inform the other fishermen, and they all agreed to test this out. For one whole week they stopped hitting and cussing ‘Snakie’. The next time they went on a fishing trip, they made a huge catch. Everyone was so excited at their change of fortune that they forgot all about the experiment.
For the next two weeks, everyone was in high spirits, or had consumed a large quantity of same. Whenever they encountered Danesh, they treated him as usual.

Kelawan’s folly
Kelawan was drunker than ten bottles of High Wine when he ran into ‘Snakie’. He immediately began to abuse the boy, calling him a weirdo. The lad just smiled and ignored him. This infuriated the drunken man, and he picked up a piece of wood and dealt him some vicious lashes. Unfortunately, he hit him a severe blow to the head and the boy fell unconscious to the ground. He ended up in hospital, and stayed there for three weeks!
During that period, the water became a very dangerous place to be. Two boats capsized, and a man went missing.  A large fish almost killed another. He was fishing from his boat, using a strong line, hook and bait. The fish took bait, and suddenly the craft was being pulled away.  The man tugged strongly on the line, trying to arrest the movement of the fish. It was the worst thing he could do. With a tremendous jerk, the monster fish pulled him out of the boat and under water. It was only his experience that saved his life. Quick as a flash, he released the death line, and kicked for the surface. He sped to shore in record time! Boats were dragged up onto the shore, a sure sign that fishing had come to a halt in Himara.
The entire Ramotar family went to visit Danesh. Soon, they reconciled with each other. As soon as he was better, they took him home. His parents told him about the bad fortunes of the village fishermen.

Uneasy truce
“I can make it better, but they have to leave me alone, or my friend will get angry with them,” Danesh said.
“Who is your friend?”
Silence.
“Gavin’s father is dead; his boat tu’n over.”
Danesh looked at them and smiled.
“I’ll go see my friend; maybe she can help.”
He headed for ‘Black Tide’ once again. This time, no one followed him. Or bothered him. They were now a little afraid of him. That afternoon, Danesh returned to the village, with Gavin’s dad in tow. He would not say how or where he had found the man. As usual, the poor fellow could remember nothing since the day his boat capsized. All the dazed fisherman said was:
“We have to start treating ‘Snakie’ better.”
And everyone did; even drunken Kelawan. The fishing industry in the village became very lucrative. There was never a trip that did not result in a big catch. As for ‘Snakie’, he still goes swimming in ‘Black Tide’.