That day, the sea seemed calm only at first glance. A huge cargo ship was slowly crossing the open ocean, while blue water stretched around it all the way to the horizon. The sun was burning so strongly that the metal side of the ship had become scorching hot, and the workers were trying to finish their tasks as quickly as possible.

Among them was a man named Samir.

He was quiet, poor, and very hardworking. Almost no one on the ship noticed him because he never argued, never complained, and always did the hardest work. He cleaned the deck, carried boxes, washed the rusty sides of the ship, and did everything he was ordered to do.

That day, Samir finished his work earlier than the others. He checked the fastenings, put away the tools, washed part of the deck, and only then sat down near the low railing. He took a small, worn Holy Book out of his pocket and began to read quietly.

That book was not just a book to him.

His mother had given it to him many years earlier, before he went to work at sea for the first time. On the first page, she had written in her own hand: “When you are afraid, read this and remember that you are not alone.”

Samir gently ran his fingers over the old cover and began reading almost in a whisper. At that moment, it felt to him as if, even in the middle of the vast ocean, something familiar and warm was still beside him.

But the ship’s captain noticed him from a distance.

He was a rough man who liked everyone to fear him. He often shouted at the workers, humiliated them in front of others, and believed that poor people should only stay silent and follow orders.

The captain walked toward Samir with heavy steps and stopped right in front of him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked angrily. “I don’t pay you to sit around and read.”

Samir quickly stood up.

“But I’ve already finished all my work, Captain,” he answered calmly. “I checked everything and cleaned everything up.”

The captain smirked.

“Finished? Then you are not looking hard enough for more work.”

He suddenly snatched the book out of Samir’s hands.

“Please, don’t touch it,” Samir said, frightened. “It is the only memory I have left of my mother.”

But the captain did not even look at him. He lifted the book, looked at the old cover, and twisted his face in contempt.

“There is no time for such things on my ship.”

After saying that, he swung his arm and threw the book straight overboard. Samir froze in place.

He watched the small dark book fall into the water, float on the waves for a few seconds, and then begin to drift away from the ship with the current.

“Why did you do that?” he asked in a trembling voice.

The captain shrugged.

“Then go clean the side of the ship. Since you have so much free time.”

Samir clenched his fists. For the first time, he looked the captain straight in the eyes.

“You had no right. That was the only thing I had left from my mother.”

Several workers fell silent and turned around. No one expected quiet Samir to dare answer the captain like that.

The captain’s face turned red with anger.

“Oh, so now you talk back to me?”

He took a step closer.

“Then go get your book yourself, among the sharks.”

At first, Samir did not even understand what he meant. But in the next second, the captain shoved him hard in the chest.

The worker lost his balance, hit his leg against the low railing, and fell down screaming.

“Samir!” one of the workers shouted.

The water closed over him, and a few seconds later, he surfaced, gasping desperately for air.

And then everyone saw the sharks.

They were already circling around the ship. Several enormous gray backs moved beneath the water, and sharp fins slowly came closer to Samir.

Panic broke out on the deck.

“Throw him a life ring!” someone shouted.

A young sailor rushed toward the life ring, but the captain suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Stop!” he roared. “No one throws anything without my order.”

“But they will tear him apart!” the sailor shouted.

The captain looked down coldly.

“He should have argued less.”

Samir was using the last of his strength to stay above the water. And then something happened that left everyone on board completely shocked.

He saw the fins, saw the dark shadows beneath him, and understood that there was almost no time left. Suddenly, near him on a wave, his book appeared. It had not sunk.

Samir reached out, grabbed it, and pressed it against his chest so tightly as if he were not holding paper, but his mother’s hand.

And at that moment, something strange happened.

The sharks suddenly stopped coming closer. They kept circling around him, but they did not attack. One enormous shark swam very close to him, almost touching his leg, but then suddenly turned away.

The workers on the deck watched in horror and could not believe their eyes.

“Why aren’t they touching him?” someone whispered.

The captain also turned pale, but he tried to act as if everything was under control.

“It is just a coincidence,” he muttered.

Suddenly, the sound of an engine came from far away.

A small patrol boat was quickly approaching the ship. It turned out that one of the workers had sent a distress signal before the captain managed to forbid any help.

A few minutes later, the rescuers reached Samir. One of them stretched out a long pole toward him, while another threw him a life ring. Samir could barely stay afloat, but he still managed to grab the ring without letting go of the wet Holy Book.

When they pulled him onto the patrol boat, he was pale, trembling, and could barely speak.

The patrol officers then boarded the cargo ship and immediately asked who was responsible for the crew’s safety.

The captain stepped forward and tried to smile.

“It was an accident,” he said. “The worker slipped on his own.”

But at that moment, the young sailor stepped forward.

“No,” he said loudly. “The captain pushed him.”

Then a second worker spoke.

“First, he threw his book into the ocean.”

Then a third added:

“And after that, he forbade us to throw him a life ring.”

The captain sharply turned toward them.

“Silence!” he shouted. “I am your captain!”

But now no one was afraid of him anymore.

One of the patrol officers took out his radio and sent a message. The captain was immediately removed from command of the ship, and when the vessel arrived at the port, he was taken away for investigation.

Samir spent several days in the hospital. He survived, although he himself still could not fully understand how. The doctors said it was a true miracle because the sharks had come far too close.

And he carefully dried the wet Holy Book, page by page.