‘Nobody knows’ continued the old dolphin, a sad note in her voice. ‘But it is my belief that she let herself become weak through not eating properly. It is dangerous to swim alone, but more so if you are not vibrant and healthy. I believe that she was taken by the orcas. If she had been strong, she could have out-swum them. She was not.’ Shimmer stopped and looked directly at Spirit. ‘I still miss my sister. I feel her loss to this very day. I often think of her and that young male human, floating in the water beside her. He ruined her. And so I say to you young Spirit; Beware. Do not turn your back on your pod and all that should be important to you.’
‘I won’t!’ exclaimed Spirit defensively. ‘I would never turn my back on Dancer and Summer, Moonlight, Chaser and Breeze and of course Storm. And I’ve had such a great time meeting all these other young dolphins’ said Spirit, looking back on the pods behind him.
‘That’s as maybe’ replied Shimmer disapprovingly. ‘But you must choose. You must choose between the girl and your pod. Before it is too late!’
‘No, no. I couldn’t’ murmured Spirit, confused again. ‘I’ve only just found her. I barely know her.’
‘Then all the more reason to stop it before you do get to know her.’
‘But, but….’ stuttered Spirit uncertainly. He paused, thinking hard. ‘I can’t’ he decided, turning defiantly to the old dolphin. ‘I won’t. I am not your sister. I will not make the same mistakes.’
‘That’s what you think young dolphin’ said Shimmer, with an edge to her voice, ‘but we will see. We will see.’
In the distance they could see that all the dolphins of the various pods seemed to be gathering together again, as they had for the council yesterday. Curious, Spirit and Shimmer turned and swum back to the larger group.
As they drew close again, Dancer joined Spirit and whispered in his ear ‘What was that all about then? It all looked a bit intense.’
‘You don’t want to know’ replied Spirit, trying to put Dancer off.
‘Oh but I do, I do’ replied Dancer, brimming over with curiosity. Spirit thought about lying and cast about in his mind for something to tell her. But no, he would not. Dancer was his friend. If he could not tell Dancer everything, then who could he tell.
‘She says I am a Child See-er.’ Dancer looked at him directly. A look of incomprehension was on her face, but then a flash of understanding passed across her features. She had a thousand questions she wanted to ask Spirit, but she thought perhaps she had an idea what Spirit meant. Before she could speak though, Storm and another elder addressed the assembled dolphins.
‘I smell a storm on the way’ said Storm to the group. ‘We should swim to deeper, safer waters.’ Storm was so named because from a very early age he had had an ability to sense the subtle shifts and changes in the weather and could tell when a storm was on its way, hours before anyone else could. Many were surprised by Storm’s announcement; the wind was still calm and only wispy light clouds appeared high in the sky above them. Storm’s ability was well known though and Spirit and Dancer had witnessed his uncanny predictions time and again. He was never wrong.
Another elder dolphin that Spirit did not know also addressed the grouped dolphins. ‘We all know that when there is a storm we cannot stay as a larger group’ she said. ‘It is safer to be with our own small pods. That way we will notice if one of our number is missing. Too many dolphins all around us in a storm can be confusing.’
Chatter soon broke out amongst the assembled dolphins. They started to form into pods and one by one they broke away and swum off until they were lost to sight, with only the odd whistle and click echoing back, to let them know where they were.
Both Spirit and Dancer felt particularly sad that the council had broken up. They had met so many young dolphins of their own age and just started to get to know them. Now they were dispersing again. At least they would see them all at the next full moon. What was it that Storm had said? They were to look for a special dolphin in their midst. That gave Spirit an uneasy feeling. He had enough to cope with at the moment and certainly didn’t want any more attention than he’d already received. He looked around to see if Shimmer was still there, but it looked like she had already left with her own pod. Spirit was glad. It’d be no fun with Shimmer around.
With Moonlight leading the way, the dolphins of Spirit’s pod moved away too, heading for deeper waters, where they could ride out the storm more easily. They moved with sinuous, muscular strokes of their tails. They were fully focused on the journey ahead of them. Storm followed, behind the others, putting his head up periodically to sense the weather above him. Already the wind had picked up and the waves were growing rough. In the distance Storm could see a great wall of blue-black cloud rolling in from the west. He was right, but the storm would be upon them sooner than he feared.
Spirit was lost deep in thought as they swam along. He could see the storm clouds on the horizon too. The more he thought about what Shimmer had said, the more he was convinced that the old dolphin had been wrong. He had his coming of age swim ahead of him. He had to swim alone at that time and was determined to be counted as an adult like the others. More than that, he knew that Shimmer was wrong about Lucy. Whatever might happen between him and Lucy and whatever Storm might say about humans, he knew that she was different. He could tell that she had a real warmth and empathy. Nothing bad could possibly come from the contact that he and Lucy shared. He just wished that she would come to him again soon, tonight maybe. Spirit decided to drop back and speak to Storm straight away about his coming of age swim. He wanted to get Shimmer’s words out of his head once and for all. He wanted, no, he needed to prove himself.
‘When do you think the storm will reach us?’ he asked Storm as they swum along.
‘Sooner than I’d like’ replied Storm, with a worried note in his voice. Despite Storm’s preoccupied tone, Spirit decided to get straight to the point.
‘I’m really looking forward to my coming of age swim’ he announced, changing the subject completely.
‘What?’ Stormed seemed completely nonplussed and clearly had no idea what Spirit was talking about.
‘You know’, Spirit tried to remind him, ‘We talked all about it that time just before the orcas attacked us. I’ve got my coming of age swim; the swim that all young dolphins must take to pass into adulthood. You said that I must find myself in the vastness of the ocean. You said that when I return, I will be closer to all dolphins and all living things. You know, like Dancer did last year.
‘Yes, oh that’ said Storm dismissively. ‘Look Spirit, I’ve got other things on my mind right now.’
‘But I want to fix it now, I want to swim alone as soon as I can, as soon as the storm passes if possible.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous’ exclaimed Storm. ‘You’re not ready. That’s a long way off yet!’
‘I have to do it now’ replied Spirit quietly. ‘My time is now.’
‘NO!’ cried Storm. ‘That’s not going to happen. You’re staying with us where we can keep an eye on you. You’re still just a young calf.’
‘I am not Storm’ retorted Spirit just as strongly. ‘I have to join the adults as an equal.’
‘It’s a dangerous ocean out there’ said Storm, trying reason instead of commands. ‘If I hadn’t been there when the orcas attacked, they would have claimed your life!’
‘But it was me that brought us to safety.’
‘It’s too dangerous out there!’
‘I have to prove myself.’
‘No!’ exclaimed Storm again. ‘I need you here, with us, safe, where I can keep an eye on you.’
Spirit broke away from Storm angrily and swum rapidly up past the other dolphins until he was just ahead of Moonlight at the front. Dancer tried to come up alongside him, but Spirit thrust ahead of her again, angry and hurt, not wanting to speak to anyone else at all.
Above them, the wind was picking up, turning bitterly cold. In the distance a wall of blue-black cloud was approa
ching them, dark and threatening. The waves became more ragged, getting bigger and bigger as the storm approached. Spirit could feel that the storm was almost upon them. Angry though he was, he knew that right now it would be wiser for him to be closer to the others. He dropped back until Dancer caught up with him.
‘I thought I was never going to catch up with you’ said Dancer, coming up from behind. Before Spirit could answer there was a flash of lightning and then a crack of thunder rolled across the sky.
‘It’s almost upon us!’ cried Storm to the rest of the pod. ‘It’s going to be a bumpy ride.’
‘He’s enjoying it!’ joked Dancer to Spirit. ‘He certainly does live up to his name.’ Storm was arching over the waves, absorbed with their motion, determined to ride out the storm.
Black-blue clouds were boiling over the sky now and with them an ominous darkness. With the clouds came the rain; hard and piercing, falling like arrows on to the troubled surface of the sea. The wind grew stronger, catching the spray from the sea until Spirit could hardly tell what was spray and what was rain.
Spirit began to struggle. The storm was becoming stronger and fiercer than any he had ever experienced before. The waves rolled him to this side and that. He was a strong swimmer, but he could feel the wind and the waves battering down upon him, knocking him from where he wanted to swim. He glanced towards Dancer at his side. She was still managing, though he could see the look of strain upon her face. He panted, breathless. Swimming through these stormy waters was exhausting. He tried to breathe through his air-hole, but a wave crashed on his back at that very moment and all he got instead was salt water. He blew strongly to clear the passage and was able to get another lung full of clean air down before the next wave crashed upon him.
A mile away, a great container ship was battling its way through the storm. The ship, as long as five blue whales put end to end, was so big that even a fierce storm such as this one had little effect upon its stability. Though the sailors on board were feeling green and sickly, there was no chance that the ship would sink in waters such as these. Enormous containers were stacked up on the deck, three stories high, bearing cargo from the Far East to the shores of Britain. Though the ship was secure, the containers were not. In particular one rusty blue container was not safely fastened.
As the storm pelted the ship and made it roll, the container came loose. First its front half came crashing down onto the deck of the ship with an enormous metallic crash and then the rear half of the container followed, smashing through the railings of the deck and toppling head-long into the sea. The doors of the container burst open and as it slid away into the dark waters. Its contents, a cargo of timber from Indonesia, floated back up to the surface. The great wooden planks were soon tossed here and there by the crashing waves and their long dark shapes were lost to the eye as they dispersed and spread out over the stormy waters.
Though Storm and his pod of dolphins could hear the roar of the ships engines in the distance, they knew nothing of the cargo of timber that had been shed from the container and which was now floating towards them, as the crashing of the waves hid the noise of the container smashing into the water.
The pod of dolphins had formed into a tight group now, staying together so that they would not lose each other and to ensure that they would be alert to any danger that befell any of the others. Breeze, Chaser, Moonlight and Summer were all just behind Spirit and Dancer, with Storm riding the waves behind them. The two youngest dolphins set the pace as they were the weakest swimmers and the others knew better than to leave them behind.
As they swam on, breaching the waves before they crashed over their heads, the dolphins struggled to breathe clean air whenever they could. Spirit put his head above the surface to catch a lungful of air between two perilous waves. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a distant voice came to him. Lucy! The voice in a low, insistent tone said:
‘Down, go down, dive down now!’ By now Spirit knew better than to doubt what he heard.
‘Dancer, dive down!’ he whistled urgently to his friend beside him. Spirit dived and Dancer, without having a chance to think, swam underneath the waves too. Summer did not have a chance to follow them though. Just then a wave loomed above the pod of dolphins and a dark shape came crashing over the wave’s crest; a great heavy plank of wood from the container. The long plank caught Summer a glancing blow to the side of her head as it smashed down, knocking her unconscious and leaving a bloody gash on the side of her head. They had only seconds if they wanted to save Summer’s life.
Storm, from behind them had a clear sight of the great plank striking Summer. Spirit and Dancer came up again, just as Summers unconscious form started to roll over on to one side, blood seeping into the water.
‘Keep her upright, keep her upright, or she’ll drown!’ yelled Storm desperately from behind. Instinctively and without speaking, Spirit pressed himself up against one side of Summer, whilst Dancer supported the unconscious dolphin from the other side. This way Summer could not roll any further sideways and drown in the water. It would have been hard enough though in a calm sea, but in the middle of the storm, it was almost impossible. Summer kept sliding on her left hand side and with every fresh wave, salt water washed over Summer’s blow hole, which Spirit knew well he could not clear himself. Spirit and Dancer struggled at either side of Summer, determined to keep her alive, but desperately tired already. Spirit knew his strength was ebbing fast, but what then?
‘Wake up Summer!’ barked Storm loudly, swimming just to one side of them. ‘Wake up!’ Just as Spirit began to think that he would have to let go, Summer blinked and stirred into consciousness.
‘What? …. Where?’ she murmured blearily.
‘You were knocked out, now clear your blow-hole’ commanded Storm in a ringing voice. Summer did what she was told.
‘Now swim! Swim Summer!’ Storm urged her. The stricken dolphin began to swim again and Spirit was overcome with relief that he no longer had to hold the older dolphin upright. Another minute and Summer would have died. She came round again just in time.
The storm continued to rage above them and the dolphins of the pod gathered around Summer to protect her and come to her aid again if she needed it. Summer, dazed and confused though she was, knew that her survival depended on her continuing to swim and to be able to keep her blow-hole clear. They swam on slowly. Soon, Spirit sensed that the worst of the storm had passed over them and in the distance he could see a glint of blue sky amidst the clouds. The wind eased off and the waves died down. Summer, gaining her senses again swam more assuredly. They kept going, swimming away from the storm and towards calmer waters.
After the excitement of the morning, it had been a grim and dangerous day. Eventually they slowed down and rested.
‘I can’t believe that big plank thing just loomed up from nowhere’ exclaimed Dancer as they hung in the water, gathering their energy. ‘Why did you tell me to dive just then Spirit?’ she asked. All eyes turned on Spirit.
‘I, err, just had a feeling’ replied Spirit, worried about what they might all think.
‘You could have told me too!’ said Summer. Spirit looked at her, worried, but he could see that the older dolphin was back to her usual self and made a joke out of it instead. She wasn’t angry, just relieved to be safe. The scar on the side of her head where the plank had hit her had stopped bleeding now, but it was an ugly gash and would not heal cleanly.
‘Hey, do you remember the story of the cloud dolphin?’ continued Summer. ‘One stormy night the wind and the rain were so fierce and the waves so high, that it was impossible to tell what was sea and what was air. A lonesome dolphin lost her pod in the storm and swum and swum until she noticed that the sea had turned cloudy white. She looked down and realised that the sea was far, far below her and that instead of swimming through the sea, she was floating through the clouds. She could see her pod searching for her and calling her name, so she called down and said ‘you’re looking the wrong way!’ They couldn’t
hear her though so she dived from the cloud through the air and she fell for a full minute before she hit the sea. She struck the sea with such a force that the wave she created travelled a mile in all directions and her belly ached for a week afterwards!’
‘If it wasn’t for you two’ added Summer to Dancer and Spirit more seriously, ‘I don’t know what would have happened to me.’
‘Yes, you two did well’ added Storm approvingly. Of course if Dancer and Spirit had not been there just then, Storm and another dolphin of the pod would have come to Summer’s rescue instead, if they were close enough. Spirit saw his opportunity.
‘I am old enough to help you and I am old enough to take my coming of age swim’ he said defiantly.
Storm turned a critical eye upon Spirit.
‘What happened today is the reason why you must stay close to the pod. There will be no coming of age swim for you young dolphin, not for the time being.
‘But, but surely….’ murmured Breeze and Moonlight together. ‘Surely the time is right for young Spirit to swim alone?’ continued Moonlight.
‘No!’ exclaimed Storm angrily. ‘He will stay with us. There are other considerations, other reasons why he must remain with us. His coming of age swim will have to wait.’
Spirit said nothing, but inside he seethed with resentment and anger against Storm. He just couldn’t tell Spirit what to do any more. He had to be able to prove himself and become an equal with all the other dolphins in the pod.
The dolphins hunted for fish and, having caught enough to fill their stomachs, they settled down to rest and to sleep as night fell. As darkness crept over the waves and one by one the dolphins fell into their waking sleep, Spirit knew what he had to do. He wished he could say goodbye to Dancer, he wished he could say goodbye to all of them apart from Storm, but he knew that he couldn’t. He had to go quietly, through the black waters of the sleeping sea, so that he could get as far away as possible from them by morning light.
The Girl Who Dreamt of Dolphins Page 11
