A Dolphin Wish

by Natalie Grant

  “The ride was scary?” Lulu asked. “Scary how?”

  Mia launched into the full story. Maddie tossed in her two cents every now and again. Even though she’d been more than scared on the ride, now that she was beginning to dry off and warm up, Mia felt brave recounting the adventure. She and Maddie had done it. They’d actually conquered Scalawag’s Splash on their own.

  SIX

  Buccaneer’s Island was a circular downtown, surrounded by a moat filled with paddle boats. Bridges, like spokes of a wheel, led off the island into each of the seas.

  “Why do those boats keep knocking into one another?” Lulu asked.

  “Looks like they’re a cross between paddle boats and bumper cars,” Dad said. “Look at those foam bumpers!”

  “Can we try them out?” Lulu asked.

  “Once we’ve dried out, we’ll think about it,” Mom said.

  Streets led off each bridge, angling straight into the heart of the island. A tall weather vane stood at the exact center. Weather-worn buildings with striped awnings lined the streets. Everything had an old-fashioned flair, as though by entering the park they’d stepped out of the 21st century and into long ago and far away. Here was a seafaring world full of pirates and sailors and women wearing bustled skirts and hats covered with flowers and ribbons. Along the street, Mia spotted a variety of shops. There was an old-time photography studio, a shooting gallery, and a theater that played black-and-white movies.

  “The bakery is this way.” Miss Julia headed for the center of the island.

  Mia followed along, so interested in the various shops that she forgot to shiver. Soon, the smell of warm sugar filled the air. A bell rang on the bakery door as they pushed through and joined the line.

  “There’s no maple syrup?” Lulu considered the pile of Belgian waffles.

  “They’re delicious, even without anything on top,” Miss Julia said.

  “Hmm . . .” was all Lulu had to say about that.

  Soon, though, everyone had a warm Belgian waffle in hand, and no one complained. They sat at an umbrella-topped table outside the bakery. The crunchy, sweet waffles were just about as perfect as anything Mia had tasted in a long time. Not so sweet they caused a headache, but definitely sweet enough, and just-out-of-the-oven warm. Now that the girls were dry, Miss Julia snapped a picture of Mia and Maddie, captioning the picture: Our Brave Adventurers.

  Miss Julia still had the park map on her phone, but the paper one was much easier for everyone to look at together.

  She opened it up and smoothed out the folds. “So, which of the seven seas should we head to next? Each area has rides—one or two—and animals native to the regions.”

  “I want to see the dolphins and seals,” Lulu said, pointing to the part of the park that was closest to the actual ocean.

  “Our appointment to meet the marine biologist is at eleven,” Mom said. “So we can see the dolphins then. How about sea turtles? Or parrots? Penguins?”

  “Yes, yes, and yes!” Lulu bounced in her seat.

  “And how about everyone else?” Mom smiled over Lulu’s head at Mia and the rest of the group.

  “Maybe another ride?” Mia said. “As long as it’s a little less wet.”

  “I want to try out the paddle boats,” Lulu said.

  “They look fun,” Maddie agreed.

  Miss Julia collected everyone’s towels and locked them in a locker in case they needed them later. Mia hoped they wouldn’t need them again, at least not as much as they had after Scalawag’s Splash. She’d worn her swimsuit under her clothes so she’d be ready to swim with the dolphins. But even so, it hadn’t been fun to have soaked shorts and a tank top over the suit.

  The captain of the Northern Pacific Sea had a line, so they went straight to the Pete’s Paddle Boat dock. They’d have their passports stamped later. Each paddle boat had two seats. Mia climbed in with Dad, Maddie with Mom, and Lulu with Miss Julia.

  “Beat you around!” Mia called to Maddie, and then she looked over at Dad. “Peddle!”

  “Why do they call them paddle boats?” huffed Maddie. “Shouldn’t we call them peddle boats?”

  Mia tossed Maddie a grin over her shoulder. “Betcha can’t catch us!”

  “Wanna bet?” Maddie called, leaning into it. “Come on, Mom, let’s go!”

  Sure enough, in just moments, Mia’s boat jolted forward. She looked back to see Maddie waving sweetly. “Gotcha!”

  “Wait up, wait up!” Lulu called, and then she and Miss Julia rammed Maddie’s boat, which rocked Mia’s boat all over again.

  “Oh, you’re in for it now,” Mia said, starting to peddle again.

  “What are you going to do?” Maddie asked. “You can’t bump us . . . You’re in front!”

  Mia realized this was true. No matter how fast she and Dad went, the only thing they could do was outrun everyone.

  “To the right, to the right!” Dad shouted.

  They zigzagged across the water, avoiding the other boats. In spite of their efforts, Lulu and Maddie both managed a couple solid hits.

  “To the finish line, then!” Mia said.

  “Go, go, go!” Dad shouted.

  What followed was a neck-in-neck race, but Mia and Dad won by the tiniest bit. Of course, laughter slowed everyone’s peddling the whole way.

  “High fives all around,” Dad said, once they were on dry ground.

  “Let’s go again!” Lulu said.

  SEVEN

  We only have a few minutes until eleven.” Mom examined the map. “Maybe we can walk through an exhibit on our way—sea turtles, maybe?”

  Excitement buzzed through Mia. It was almost time for her to swim with her dolphins. She was sure that all she had to do was to ask. Why would the biologist say no?

  They crossed the bridge into the Southern Atlantic Sea area, and another captain waved them over.

  “Greetings. I’m Captain Barnacle.”

  “Isn’t that a thing people don’t want on their boats?” Lulu asked.

  “Well, they gave me the choice between Barnacle and Sea Slug. I decided Barnacle was the better choice.” Captain Barnacle winked. “Would you like me to stamp your passports?”

  “Please.” Miss Julia handed all three over.

  “Looks like you’re just starting your day,” Captain Barnacle noted. “Looking for anything particular in the Southern Atlantic?”

  “Sea turtles,” Mom said.

  “Point your bow toward the port side,” Captain Barnacle said, gesturing off to the left. “You can’t miss them.”

  “Cheers!” said Lulu, and everyone laughed.

  She’d picked up the expression in London after a long discussion about why Londoners didn’t say plain thank you. Mia’s laughter cut short—thinking of London made her think about the mystery and about what had happened with Maddie. She studied her sister’s profile. It was odd to think that Maddie might be making plans right now, plans she wasn’t sharing with Mia. Like Mia hadn’t shared her plans to ask for a dolphin swim. We’re each unique, Mia reminded herself, thinking of her conversation with Miss Julia last night. But couldn’t they be unique together?

  “What do you think?” Maddie asked, right at Mia’s elbow.

  “Huh?” Mia looked up and saw the green-blue water behind the glass and the sea turtles gliding past.

  “I like their noses,” Maddie said. “But do they actually smell things?”

  Miss Julia consulted her phone. “Sea turtles have an acute sense of smell in the water. They take water in through their noses and then it flows back out of their mouths—that’s all part of their process of smelling.”

  Lulu opened her mouth to ask something, but just then, Mom said, “It’s 10:50. Ready for the dolphins?” />
  A thrill shot through Mia. “Ready!”

  They hurried through the crowds toward the dolphin building. A white-coated woman met them at the door and held out her hand to Mom. “Hi, there. I’m Zarin.”

  “I’m Gloria,” Mom said. “And this is Jack, Miss Julia, Mia, Maddie, and Lulu.”

  Mia loved the way Zarin’s smile spread across her entire face, even lighting up her eyes. “The dolphins are expecting you. And let me tell you, they’re excited, because they’re ready for their meal. I chose this feeding time for our meeting because I thought that would be the most fun for you.”

  Mia noted the plaque on the wall. “Why’s this called the dolphin and seal hospital?”

  Zarin motioned for them to come inside. “Most of the animals in the park are here because they need rehabilitation of some kind. Our goal is to release them back into the wild if we can, once their issues have been resolved. Some of our animals are deemed non-releasable, but we try our hardest to avoid that situation at all costs.”

  “What kind of rehabilitation?” Maddie asked.

  “For dolphins, it’s often a torn fin. But one of our dolphins came to us with an infection that made him so weak, he could hardly swim. Surfers found him beached a little south of here, and as soon as we could, we transported him to our facility.”

  “So the dolphins are all hurt or sick?” Mia couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice. Zarin wouldn’t let her swim with injured or sick dolphins.

  “We have two dolphins who are full-time residents,” Zarin said. “Those are the ones you’re going to meet today, out at the public sea pens. Our dolphins have had a busy morning, swimming with one of the newest dolphins in our care. One of our females arrived with a torn fin, and soon afterward she gave birth to a baby. Since the mother is still healing, our resident dolphins are teaching the baby the ropes. All that playing makes them hungry.”

  So maybe there was still a chance to swim with them, then.

  “Will we see the baby?” Lulu asked.

  “From a distance,” Zarin said, locking the door and leading them deeper into the building. “We’re limiting the baby’s exposure to humans so that when she’s old enough for release, she has the best possible chance of making it in the wild. When animals are exposed to humans, they lose some of their wildness. They become comfortable near the shore and boats and lose their natural instinct to keep their distance. In the wild, people aren’t trained to interact with sea life, and so each of those interactions can be dangerous—for the animals and for the humans.”

  The wall facing the park was windowless, but windows lined the inner wall. Outside, a network of docks crisscrossed the sea pen area. Beyond the high rock wall was the sea.

  “This building creates a shell to protect the hospital area from the public sea pens. We have observation decks so that park visitors can watch the resident dolphins and seals in the public sea pens. The decks are only open for certain hours of the day. We’ve closed them now so we’ll have privacy.” Zarin stopped and pointed out a shape in the distance. “There—you can barely see her, but that’s our dolphin baby.”

  Lulu stood on her toes and peered through the glass. “Bobbing her head up and down?” she asked.

  “Yep, that’s her,” Zarin said.

  Mia had just spotted the tiny shape before it burst out of the water, arcing up and back down again, revealing its miniature tail fin.

  “She’s showing off for you,” Zarin said. “Almost as though she knows you’re here.”

  Mia realized that what she knew of dolphins may not be scientific. Most of her knowledge came from A Ring of Endless Light. But the book had made her think that dolphins could sense other animals, people—and thoughts—from a long way away.

  “Do you think she does know we’re here?” Mia asked.

  “Possibly,” Zarin said. “There are still a lot of things we don’t know about dolphins. We do know they’re highly sensitive animals, to one another and to everything in their surroundings too.”

  “Why do they jump?” Maddie asked.

  “There are a lot of theories. Maybe because air creates less friction than water, so they go faster when they jump. Possibly to get rid of bacteria while they’re in the air, or to gain a better view of the sea. Most people who spend any amount of time with dolphins think they jump because they enjoy jumping. They’re playing. At least, that’s what I see.”

  EIGHT

  Zarin led them past the rest of the windows and through a few locked doors into another hallway.

  “The seals are down that way. We’ll see them a bit later, but we should start with our hungry dolphins.” Zarin led them down one last hallway and out a door onto a wide wooden dock.

  The observation decks were high above their heads to the left. Otherwise, the dolphin area seemed just as remote as a private sea cove. Another rock wall divided the dolphin area from the open sea. And then, she saw the dolphins. They seemed to fly through the water as they sped toward the girls. Mia’s breath caught. Dolphins, real live ones, so close she could almost reach out and touch them. They tipped back their heads and chittered.

  “See, what did I tell you? They’re delighted to see you! Ladies, meet Xena and Titania, our resident dolphins.”

  Zarin grabbed a bucket and loaded it up with fish from a glass tank teeming with them. She swung the bucket onto the deck. The dolphins became even more excited, darting around each other, and splashing their fins in the water.

  “If only we could get Lulu this excited about her dinner,” Miss Julia said, laughing.

  Lulu started waving her hands and dancing around, trying to get first one dolphin and then the other’s attention.

  “Careful, Lulu,” Mom laughed. “You’ll end up in the pool with them.”

  “Could we go in with them?” Mia pounced on the opportunity to ask. “Please, just for a little bit?”

  Zarin shook her head. “I’m sorry. Feeding the dolphins is as close as we can get to them today.”

  “Like she said, they’re wild animals,” Dad reminded Mia.

  “But—”

  Mom put a hand on Mia’s shoulder. No. Zarin had already said no. Mia shoved her hands in her pockets, wishing now that she hadn’t asked like that, out of the blue. She hadn’t had the chance to make her case. And now, if she asked again, she’d only get in trouble.

  “Here we go.” Zarin set the bucket on the dock by their feet.

  Fish—living, squirming fish—splashed around in the bucket. Apparently, Zarin expected Mia and her sisters to pluck the fish out of the bucket and throw them to the dolphins.

  “Wait, we’re going to touch . . . those?” Maddie asked.

  “Yep! Who’s up first?” Zarin asked.

  “Me, me, me!” Lulu plunged her hand into the bucket and tossed a fish to the waiting dolphins.

  One raised its head and snapped the fish up in one bite.

  Mia could see that the other dolphin was just as hungry. She looked at the squirming fish and back at the dolphins.

  “Come on, guys!” Lulu said, grabbing another fish.

  Mia figured the best way to do this was to not think about it too much. She shoved her hand into the cold water. The fish were so slippery, all she had time to do was hold tight, yank the fish out of the bucket, and toss it through the air. The other dolphin lifted its head and swallowed the fish whole, and then opened its mouth in a wide smile.

  “She’s smiling! Maddie, you have to try this,” Mia said.

  “I don’t know . . .” Maddie eyed the bucket of flopping fish with disgust.

  “They’re slippery, but it’s not as bad as it looks,” Mia said.

  “How about I help you?” Miss Julia took a fish out for Maddie, but almost dropped it as it flipped and
flopped in her hands. Maddie tried to grab its tail, but didn’t get a good grasp before the poor fish flopped into the dolphin tank. Both dolphins dove for it. That fish never had a chance.

  “You did it!” Mia said.

  “Kind of,” Maddie said, wrinkling her nose.

  After that, the girls all started grabbing fish and tossing them, so that soon the air was full of flying fish. Miss Julia snapped photo after photo. The dolphins ducked and bobbed in a happy frenzy. Mia stopped throwing fish after a while. She wanted to watch the graceful way the dolphins slid through the water. Every now and then, they splashed their fins on the water, begging for more. At one point, they even swam away, flying through the water. They jumped once, twice, side by side in graceful arcs before coming back for more. Mia thought she’d never seen more graceful, amazing animals in her life. She crouched down to look them in the eyes. One swam close, pausing, almost making Mia’s heart stop as their eyes connected.

  Can you hear me? Mia thought in her direction.

  If the dolphin answered, Mia didn’t hear what she said.

  Once all the fish from the bucket were gone, Zarin asked, “Would you like to see the seals?”

  “Sure!” Lulu said.

  Mia held back, watching the dolphins swim and play as the others filed inside. Soon, it was just Mom waiting, holding the door. “Time to go, Mia.”

  It was already over and she’d hardly had a chance to plead her case. “Can I just put in my toes?” Mia asked in a last-ditch effort. “Please?”

  “Mia.” Mom’s voice left no room for arguing.

  Mia dragged her feet as she left the deck. She’d been so sure she’d be able to swim with the dolphins. Not just that, but she’d been positive that somehow the dolphins would help her make sense of her questions.

  Zarin led the group down the other hallway. Mia needed to be alone, just for a minute.

  She felt Mom watching her. She knew everyone was wondering if she was okay. Everyone knew how much she’d wanted to swim with the dolphins. She felt watched and wondered about and just needed some space.