Shark Story 1

Stephen is a hard-working man who lives in a small community in a Southeast Asian country. He is
content with his life together with his beautiful wife Maria and their two little angels, Marga and Sophie.
His main source of income is fishing and farming. During the daytime, Stephen goes to the farm to take
good care of and maintain his rice field. From evening until midnight, he will head to the river with his
friends to catch some fish and sell them by the next morning so he can sustain his family.

The river in which Stephen and his colleagues go fishing is wide and deep. Most of the elders in that
place say that there is a monster in the river, which is the main reason for the previous deaths of
fishermen a long time ago, but this claim is ignored by some people, and one of them is Stephen and his
friends. They don't believe in these myths told by the elders since nothing has ever happened to them
since they started fishing on the river. The deaths of most fishermen have not been traced and remain a
mystery. Their bodies are nowhere to be found. 
Maria couldn't be more worried every time her husband goes to the river to catch fish because of these
old myths and sayings. She prays that her husband will come back safely and waits for him to be home
at midnight.

One night, Stephen, together with his friends Carlo and Rico, went to the river to catch more fish to sell
by the next day. Everything seemed normal, and they continued to navigate the river to catch some
more. Carlo noticed a splash from afar and thought it might be a big fish they could catch. He told
Stephen and Rico about it, so they swam slowly for it not to go away.
When Stephen focused the flashlight on the area where Carlo was pointing, he saw the spindle, and he
realized that it was not just an ordinary fish but a shark swimming faster on his way, so he shouted at
them, "It's a shark," and he swam as fast as he could to the side of the river, but the shark bit his left
arm, pulling him into deep waters. He can feel the pain in his arm, but he needs to fight back the shark
and stay focused if he is to survive. Carlo and Rico were shocked but managed to get out of the river for
safety. They were shouting Stephens's name, and they saw him fighting the shark for his life. They tried
to distract the shark by throwing stones at it, but it was determined to eat Stephen and leave nothing
behind. They seem hopeless for Stephen, and he will not be able to make it. They cannot risk their lives
either; all they can do is pray that Stephen will survive against this monster. They do not have a gun or
anything that they can use against the shark because they are not expecting something like this to
happen. They have been fishing for how many years and don’t even believe the old sayings.

As Stephen fights back for his life against the shark, he remembers the knife he made from stone, which
he always brings with him. His arm is bleeding and painful, but he thrives hard to get his knife from the
side of his leg, and when he did, he pointed it toward the face of the shark, which keeps biting his arm.
He did it again and again to let the shark go and leave him, and he succeeded. The shark swims away
from him, and he immediately swims to where Carlo and Rico are waiting. He is in so much pain, but he
needs to get out of the water because the shark might come back to attack him. 

Carlo and Rico swam back to the river to get Stephen and help him. His arms were bleeding so fast that
they tried to cover and tie the wounds with their clothes to prevent them from bleeding too much.
Stephen fainted due to a loss of blood, so they hurried and brought him home. When Maria saw her
husband bleeding, she was crying hard and worried that he might die. They immediately asked for
rescue, and Stephen was then admitted to the nearest hospital and is recovering. He needs to stay for a
couple of weeks in the hospital to fully recover. They could not believe that there was a shark that could
survive in the river. They are not aware that there are species of sharks that can survive in a river, like
Glyphis and bull sharks. Those myths and sayings are now proven because of what happened to
Stephen. So their community must be more careful and, if possible, stay out of the river to avoid more
shark attacks. 

With this incident, their community was alarmed and was advised not to go to the river unless the shark
that attacked Stephen and his friends is caught up. Signage was everywhere for people to know that the
river is dangerous.
All the myths and mysteries about the lost fishermen were somehow answered, though there were no
thorough investigations about them. The incident was a clue that this was the same scenario as their
deaths.

Shark Story 2

The second semester of class was about to finish, and Diana and Lizzy were busy in preparation for their
final exam. They both took an engineering course and are on the same class schedule. Diana and Lizzy
are like sisters; they grow up in the same neighborhood and go to the same school up until college. They
knew each other so well, and they call themselves best friends in crime.

Since the semester is about to end, Diana gives Lizzy the challenge that when they both pass all their
subjects this semester, they will go on a vacation to a beautiful island called Paradise Island and stay
there for a week to relax and have fun. Diana didn’t want to go alone, which is why she invited Lizzy and
made it a challenge so that it would serve as their motivation for their upcoming final examination. 

Lizzy accepted the challenge and is very excited to go there. Paradise Island is a well-known island and is
very beautiful, especially during the summer. Lots of tourists visited the said island because of its
beautiful beach with white sand and the rocky part of the island with its little jungle look at the center. A
lot of activities can be done there, such as snorkeling, kayaking, sea diving, and relaxing on a floating
boat. This is the reason why Lizzy and Diana chose this as an inspiration for their upcoming final exam.

Moving forward, Diana and Lizzy just finished all their scheduled exams; they prepared themselves for
this exam and studied hard for them to pass. After three days, the results of their final examination are
out, and when they checked them, they both had a smiling face because they were able to pass all of
their subjects, and now it’s time for the reward they promised. They were both jumping out of
excitement and talking about the things they would bring on the island and the fun activities that they
would do. Both of them can’t wait to go to the island and explore its beauty. 

Diana wants to try kayaking and snorkeling, and Lizzy wants to relax on a floating boat with lots of food
on it. The two ladies informed their parents before going to Paradise Island, and they got their parents'
permission. Their parents reminded them to be safe and cautious in their surroundings. Diana and Lizzy
told their parents not to worry; they can handle themselves any more, and they’re both strong. 
It was Saturday morning when they traveled to the island, and it took them six hours before they finally
arrived. They were both mesmerized by its beauty and felt the air that comes from the sea. They set up
their tent and other things and changed into beach clothes to have some photoshoots for their social
media accounts as part of their best friend's forever memories. They were filled with joy and
excitement. The sea was calm and the air was refreshing; they could feel as if nature was speaking to
both of them. They make sure they get the most out of this vacation that they have. 

After eating and relaxing, Diana decided to get ready for her first activity, which is kayaking. She changed
her clothes and paid for the activity they were about to do, which cost five dollars for two hours. She
invites Lizzy to go with her. Afterwards, they’re both heading to the beach and having fun. The next
thing they did was snorkel. The sea is full of beautiful creatures, which they enjoyed exploring and
getting some photos of. After a few hours, they head back to their tent to relax and change clothes. Both
of them felt hungry and wanted to grab some food.

Lizzy went to the assigned caretakers to rent the floating boat. After which, she called Diana to go with
her, and they both rode on the floating boat with some delicious seafood and snacks. They were both
hungry after the activities that they had done, so they decided to eat on the floating boat. Lizzy sits on
one side of the boat and lets her feet feel the seawater. They kept on chitchatting about anything when
Lizzy shouted out loud, asking for help, and was almost drowning because a shark bit her leg and was
pulling her into the sea. Diana immediately pulled Lizzy back to the floating boat, but the shark was
persistent in its desire to eat Lizzy and is not letting her go away. She can feel its sharp teeth in her flesh
up to her bones. She was in so much pain, but she doesn't want to die like this. She chose to survive and
fight for her precious life. Lizzy shouted for help to Diana, and her face expressed the pain that she felt.
Diana pulled Lizzy with all her strength, and she was able to make it. She didn't want to lose her best
friend, who was just like a sister to her, but the thing is that Lizzy’s one leg was cut out because of the
shark's bite. Lizzy is terrified that she might die at any time, so Diana shouted for help and called the
caretakers with the walkie-talkie on the floating boat. They were immediately rescued, and Lizzy was
brought to the hospital to be cured. 

When Lizzy was conscious and realized what had happened, she cried so hard. She looked at her legs
and felt pity for herself. Diana felt sorry for her and blamed herself, but Lizzy said that it was not her
fault. It was an accident, and she thanked Diana for saving her life and told her that Lizzy owes her
second life to Diana. Maybe she loses a leg, but she’s still her best friend, and she will not waste this
second chance at life for her. They were both crying and hugging each other. Diana promised she would
never leave Lizzy, no matter what, and that she would take good care of her. 

After that incident, Paradise Island was temporarily closed due to the shark's existence. People were
also warned about those nearby places on the island. Everyone was alarmed, especially those fishermen,
who should be more cautious when they go fishing. 

Shark Story 3

Rachel works as a call center agent for a company in another city, which is far from home; she’s been
working there for almost five years. She is the breed winner of the family, and she needs to work hard
because she has five siblings to sustain; all of them go to school. Her parents cannot provide for all the
needs of the family, which is why she is helping them because all of her brothers are studying and she
wants them to get the education they deserve. Rachel loves her family so much and will do anything for
them. 
Rachel decided to take a one-week leave because she misses her family so much and wants to spend
time with them. She was planning this back then. Her leave was approved by her boss, so she
immediately went home and traveled for eight hours. Her parents didn’t know she was going home.
When she arrived, they were shocked but, at the same time, happy because they missed her too. Rachel
then hugged her parents and asked for her siblings. Her parents tell her that they’re still at school.
Rachel’s parents thought she quit her job, which is why she is home, but she told them that she’s on a
one-week leave to spend time with them. When her siblings arrived, she hugged them and told them
she had a big announcement for all of them. They were all curious about it and stared at her, waiting for
her to tell them. She told them that they would go on an outing to a beautiful resort. Then she looked at
them and saw their faces transitioning from curious faces to happy faces. They were so happy and
excited.
Before they went to sleep, they were talking about Rachel’s work and whether she was comfortable in
her place in the city. She told them that everything was good and they should not worry. Rachel asks her
sibling if they are doing well in their studies. She reminded them to study hard because it’s just for their
own good. Also, she told them to help their parents on the weekend because they are getting older and
weaker. 
The next morning, everyone was excited, and one of her brothers told her he was not able to sleep well
out of excitement. They were preparing the things that they needed, and Rachel called for reservations
at the resort. They double-checked their things and asked if they had forgotten anything. When they are
all set, she can feel the happiness and excitement of her family, and that gives her satisfaction. What
matters to her is their happiness. Then she asked all of them if they were good to go, and all of them
answered a big yes with a smiling face. They traveled for three hours to the resort, and when they
arrived, a staff member welcomed them and guided them to their reserved cottage. Her family was
amazed; it was their first time to go to a beautiful resort like this. The staff leaves a menu for them if
they ever want to order something. Rachel thanked the staff, and her parents told her not to order
anything since they brought all the food and ingredients they needed for this outing, and aside from
that, all the food on the menu was expensive. She smiles at them and nods; she wants home-cooked
food rather than those offered at the resort, and aside from that, they can also save. 
Rachel’s siblings were excited to swim, so they changed clothes and ran to the beach. Unfortunately,
one of her siblings, Danny, is nine years old and doesn’t know how to swim, so he stayed on the shore
and played with the sand, making sand castles and lettering. Rachel and her parents were watching
them while talking a lot. She and her parents were preparing for their lunch while her siblings were
having fun playing and swimming.
Food was ready, so Rachel went to his siblings and told them to eat first before going back to play and
swim. They followed her, and they had a boodle fight for lunch, and everyone seemed to enjoy their
outing. After eating, Danny borrowed a lifebuoy from the staff and practiced swimming with his older
brothers. He wanted to learn how to swim just like his older siblings, and he is determined. Their parents
and Rachel went to swim too and helped Danny learn to swim. 
Rachel’s father is teaching Danny how to swim, and her other siblings were cheering him on. After that,
the other siblings went to the shore to play in the sand. Rachel and his father were still teaching Danny
to swim. Now, Danny was instructed to swim by himself to his father’s direction, which is a little distant
from his position, and do it a couple of times. Danny was determined to learn, so he followed any
instructions they gave him. When he was about to swim back to his father's position, one of his siblings
shouted that there was a big fish coming to them. He shouted so hard, and when Rachel noticed and
saw what was coming, she shouted, "Father, a shark!" and pointed at it. It was about to attack Danny,
who is not aware of what’s happening, but his father’s adrenaline to catch him made him safe. The shark
almost bit Rachel’s father, but he was able to escape while holding Danny with him. They were in a state
of shock at what happened, along with other people and staff in there who witnessed the scene.
Fortunately, no one was harmed by that incident, and Danny was safe with his father. 
The people on the resort were advised not to go to the beach, and all of them went home out of fear
and to be safe. Rachel and her family went home also, and they are still lucky that no one was harmed.
The enjoyable and fun outing became a nightmare for them. Rachel told them to be calm and move on.
What’s important is that they’re all safe; they will still have fun at home and make the most of their
vacation. They do a group hug and thank God for another life and that they are still a complete family.
The news spread, so the government advised the resort owner to close as of the moment, and when
they go back to operation and accept visitors, they must not forget to put up signage and inform all of
their clients about sharks' existence on their beach for awareness.