The Naturalist And The Anemone (IV)

Encased in the warm, clear water, the naturalist could gaze at the great orange anemones for hours without thinking of anything else. Even the creeping realization that it was time to search out new creatures in new seas could not penetrate this state of his heart. Each night in his bunk, he resolved to cut off his experiments and move on, and each morning he stayed.
His whole life might have become enveloped in this pattern had the ship not run low on provisions. They finally sailed one bright morning, and the naturalist thought sadly that he never would return again.