Dolphin Knight

by Robert T. Jeschonek

  The old man with the crooked cane at the front of the crowd took a step toward her. His bushy white hair and beard seemed to glow around his tanned face like suncapped clouds.

  "I am your Grandpa Po," said the old man. "It has been a long time since I last saw you."

  Raka didn't remember him, but she nodded anyway. Another tear ran down her cheek.

  Grandpa Po opened his arms wide. "Come here, child," he said. "You're home now."

  For a moment, Raka didn't move. Then, she threw herself forward and let Grandpa Po wrap his arms around her.

  It had been such a long day. All of a sudden, everything that had happened to Raka since she had left Shark Island caught up with her at once. Instead of meeting everyone and asking a million questions, all she could think to do at that moment was cry on her Grandpa Po's shoulder.

  "There, there," Grandpa Po said softly, patting her back. "Everything's all right now. You're home, Cryssa. Welcome home, Cryssa."

  *****

  Chapter Thirteen

  That evening, the Sylva had a feast in Raka's honor.

  The people laid out long reed mats on the beach, then covered them with trays of meat and fish and bowls overflowing with all manner of fruits and vegetables. At sunset, the Sylva lit tall torches around the feasting place and built a fire over which pots of stew bubbled and steamed.

  Throughout the celebration, men and women sang and danced. In their gestures and movements, Grandpa Po explained, the performers told the story of Raka's abduction as a baby and happy return to the island years later.

  Not that Raka was able to pay much attention to the songs and dances. During the entire feast, she hardly had a moment to herself. Sylva of all ages constantly surrounded her, touching her affectionately and asking one question after another. The children, especially, would not leave her alone; they wanted to hear every detail of her escape from the Sharkites...and then they wanted to hear every detail again and again.

  It was exhausting, after all that Raka had been through. It was also, she thought, the most wonderful night of her life. On Shark Island, she had felt as if most people considered her a freak and barely tolerated her; here, the people were so glad to have her around that they threw a huge party to celebrate her arrival.

  It almost seemed too perfect to be real. It felt like a dream, the happiest dream she had ever had.

  *****

  A long time after sunset, the feast finally started to wind down. People finished eating and put away the leftover food. The singing and dancing ended, and parents hurried their children off to bed in the nearby village. The blazing torches were put out, though the cooking fire was left to burn.

  Soon, just a few people remained at the feasting place, cleaning up the last traces of the celebration. Raka and Grandpa Po were left alone by the fire for the first time since the start of the party.

  "What were my mother and father like?" said Raka, turning a huge, red flower around in her hands. During the feast, a little boy had slipped the flower behind her ear and kissed her on the cheek before shyly running away.

  "They were good people," said Grandpa Po, nodding as he stared into the fire. "Some say they were the finest king and queen we've ever had."

  "Are you my father's father, or my mother's?" said Raka.

  "Your mother's," said Grandpa Po, "but your father was like a son to me."

  Raka continued to turn the red flower between her fingertips. "What did they look like?" she said.

  "Well," said Grandpa Po, "your father was the tallest man on the island. The strongest, too. He had curly red hair and a birthmark on his shoulder shaped like a shooting star. Your mother...well, she looked like you. Very beautiful. Always smiling and laughing."

  Raka smiled.

  "And she always wore fresh flowers in her hair," said Grandpa Po, reaching over to tap the petals of the red flower that Raka held. "She always smelled sweet from the flowers."

  As Raka listened, she tried in vain to form an image of her parents in her mind. She pictured the pieces that Po had described--her father's curly red hair and birthmark, her mother's smile and flowers--but she couldn't imagine her parents in the flesh, as they must have looked when she was young.

  Grandpa Po reached into a leather bag that hung at his hip and pulled something out of it. "This was hers," he said, opening his hand to reveal a black pendant shaped like a leaping Kee. "Someday, you'll wear it, too."

  Raka stared in wonder. Every man and woman that she had seen on the island wore pendants identical to the one in Grandpa Po's hand.

  "When will I wear it?" she said.

  "When I decide that you have become an adult," said Grandpa Po. "Until then, I'll hang it in your room. It will draw your mother's spirit to protect you."

  Raka ran a finger over the smooth stone of the pendant. She got goosebumps as she thought about how she was touching something that had been close to her mother.

  Grandpa Po smiled wistfully as he returned the pendant to his bag. "She was a wonderful woman," he said.

  "What about my brother?" said Raka. "What was he like?"

  Grandpa Po chuckled. "Tulo was just like his father," he said. "Always exploring. Seek was Tulo's best friend, and just as adventurous. When Tulo was three years old, he rode Seek into the deep sea and was gone for a whole day. Three years old." Grandpa Po chuckled and wagged his shaggy head.

  Raka turned her gaze from the flower to the fire. "Seek told me Tulo died saving my life."

  "Yes," said Grandpa Po, his mood turning somber. "He sacrificed himself so that you could live. The king of the Sharkites killed him."

  Startled by what she had heard, Raka spun to face Grandpa Po. "The king?" she said. "King Ikaz?"

  Grandpa Po nodded.

  Raka dropped the flower to the ground. "Ikaz killed my brother?" she said, suddenly feeling dizzy.

  "He is a cruel man," Grandpa Po said grimly. "He killed many of the Sylva that night."

  Raka put a hand to her forehead. "All this time," she said slowly. "All this time, I thought Ikaz was my father. He told me he was my father."

  Grandpa Po put his arm around Raka's shoulders. "You're away from him now," he said softly. "That's all that matters."

  Images of Ikaz flashed through Raka's mind. Everything she remembered about him seemed different now: the way he had smiled at her...the way he had told her stories until she fell asleep...the way he had held her hand and brought her gifts from the hunt and carried her on his shoulders. All of it seemed dark and ugly now. Every good memory she had of him turned as black as the tattoos that had covered his body.

  A wave of emotion rushed through her suddenly, and she started to cry. "He said he was my father," she said, and then the sobs cut off her words.

  Grandpa Po patted her back. "It's all right now," he said. "You're safe now."

  Raka leaned against him and let the sobs pour out of her.

  "I'm sorry he took you away," said Grandpa Po. "I wish I could have stopped him, but I was badly hurt. The Sharkites left me for dead that night."

  Raka shuddered against him. "Why?" she said. "Why did he do it?"

  "I don't know," said Grandpa Po, and he sighed. "I guess all that really matters is that you survived. You survived and made it home, and I'm so proud of you for doing that. You're as strong as your father, Cryssa."

  "I didn't escape alone," said Raka, still sobbing. "There was a boy. He...he died protecting me...just like my brother."

  "Oh, Cryssa," said Grandpa Po. "I'm so sorry."

  "Everyone close to me...ends up dead," said Raka.

  "It's not your fault," said Grandpa Po. "None of it was your fault."

  "I miss him," said Raka, remembering how Bey had looked on the boat, gazing out at the open ocean...then remembering the last time she had seen him, when he had disappeared into the shark-infested water. Every time she thought of him, she couldn't help remembering that last, awful moment.

  Grandpa Po squeezed her shoulder. "I know," he said quietly. />
  "Nothing makes sense," said Raka. "I feel...like I don't know anything...anymore."

  "It just seems that way right now," said Grandpa Po, "but it will get better. I promise. You have a new life ahead of you here. Don't forget, as the daughter of the king, you're going to be queen someday. Since your father and mother died, I've been the acting king, but I'm really just filling in until you're ready to take over."

  "I don't care," said Raka. "I was a princess once already...and I hated it."

  "This time will be different," said Grandpa Po. "You'll see."

  After a while, Raka's sobs finally faded. Her eyes were sore from the crying and sheer exhaustion, and she rubbed them with the heels of her hands.

  "I miss my mother and father," she said, "and my brother. I never even knew them, and I miss them."

  "I miss them, too," said Grandpa Po, "but having you here, in a way, is like having them back."

  "I want you to tell me all about them," said Raka. "I want to know everything."

  "I will," said Grandpa Po, reaching for his cane. He struggled to his feet, then reached out a hand to help Raka get up, too. "But not tonight. It's time you got some sleep. You have a big day ahead tomorrow."

  "Big day?" said Raka.

  "Oh, yes," said Grandpa Po with a smile. "It will be the first day of your new life, Cryssa. The day of your rebirth as a Sylva."

  Raka frowned. "Rebirth?" she said. "You're not going to throw me in the ocean, are you?"

  Grandpa Po laughed. "Of course not!"

  "I won't have to breathe underwater?" said Raka.

  "No, you won't," said Grandpa Po.

  "Good," Raka said with a smile. "I like it here already."

  *****

  Chapter Fourteen

  Early the next morning, Raka was awakened by the sound of birds singing in the trees around the village. Her grandpa's house, where she had slept, glowed with the first dim light of dawn that flowed through the windows and doorway.

  At first, Raka didn't know where she was. For a moment, she thought she was back in her bedroom on Shark Island, with King Ikaz and Queen Perza in the room next door. With the birdsong, the dim light, and the familiar, sweet smell of the jungle, it could have been just another day at home, just another morning no different from any other.

  Then, Raka saw her mother's Kee pendant hanging on the wall above the foot of her sleeping mat. Grandpa Po had placed it there after the feast the night before, just as he had said that he would.

  All at once, Raka's memories of the past few days rushed back to her, and she knew that she was not on Shark Island anymore. Briefly, a wave of disappointment rolled through her; she was happy to be safe on Kee Island and away from Ikaz, but the thought of her former home made her lonely for Perza. Other than Bey, Perza had been the only Sharkite to sympathize with Raka when it came to Rebirth Day...and had been the only Sharkite besides Bey who had truly cared about her.

  As the moment of disorientation and disappointment passed, Raka sat up on her sleeping mat and stretched her arms overhead. She still felt tired, which was no wonder after all that she had been through, but she was eager to get moving. As Grandpa Po had told her the night before, this was the first day of her new life; she didn't want to let it slip away while she lay in bed.

  Just then, Raka heard Grandpa Po's shuffling footsteps in the dirt outside the house. Quickly, she got to her feet to greet him.

  "Good morning, Grandpa," she said brightly as he hobbled through the doorway, leaning on his cane.

  Grandpa Po's face lit up when he saw her. "Good morning, Cryssa," he said. "How did you sleep?"

  "Very well," said Raka. "I feel a lot better this morning."

  "Good, good," said Grandpa Po. "You look like you're ready for some breakfast."

  Raka's stomach was still full from all the feasting the night before, but she nodded. "I could make us something," she said. "What food do you have?"

  "No, no," said Grandpa Po, wagging a finger at her. "This is your first morning at home. I'll fix breakfast."

  Raka thought about insisting that he let her prepare the food, then decided it would be more polite to accept his kindness. "All right," she said. "Thank you, Grandpa."

  Grandpa Po hobbled over to a jumble of clay jars in a corner of the room. "You'll be doing your share of chores soon enough," he said. "But not today. Today is for meeting family and friends and getting to know the island."

  "I can't wait," said Raka. She was so excited at the prospect of exploring her new home that she wished she could charge right out the door at that instant. "Will I get to visit Seek?"

  "Oh, yes," said Grandpa Po. "I just saw him down at the lagoon, and he was asking about you. He reminded me to bring you to meet your Kee family today."

  "I have a Kee family?" said Raka.

  "All of us do," said Grandpa Po. "Our families include both Sylva and Kee alike. Every Sylva has Kee brothers and sisters."

  "On Shark Island, all the warriors have shark brothers," said Raka.

  "You'll find it's not quite the same thing," said Grandpa Po. Bending down, he lifted the lid from one of the clay jars on the floor, then made a face and quickly put the lid back. "Sharks don't know anything about love. The Kee, on the other hand, believe there is nothing stronger."

  "They do?" said Raka.

  "You'll see," said Grandpa Po, lifting the lid from another clay jar. "Life here is very different from what you knew before."

  "Different in a good way?" said Raka.

  "Oh, yes," said Grandpa Po. "Now, which do you want for breakfast, Cryssa? Fish and coconut or coconut and fish?"

  Raka grinned. "How about coconut and coconut?" she said.

  "Today is your lucky day," said Grandpa Po. "I've got that, too."

  *****

  Before Raka and Grandpa Po had even finished breakfast, guests showed up in the doorway. Twin girls stood there, grinning and giggling, the morning light gleaming in their bright red hair.

  The girls were a little younger than Raka, though she wasn't sure exactly how much younger they were. She had met them at the feast the night before and remembered liking them...but couldn't recall their names.

  "Well, well," said Grandpa Po, looking up with a smile from his plate of fish. "If it isn't the welcoming committee."

  The twins giggled and scuffed their bare feet on the wood floor. "Good morning, King Po," they said at the same time.

  "Are you here to clean my house?" said Grandpa Po.

  The twins giggled again. "No," they both told him, fidgeting and bumping shoulders with amusement.

  "But you told me you were going to clean my house today," said Grandpa Po, his smile widening.

  "We didn't say that," said one of the girls. "We're here to see Cryssa."

  "Ah," said Grandpa Po, nodding. "So Cryssa's going to help you clean my house."

  The girls laughed loudly, shaking their heads. "Nooo," said the second girl. "We're going to show her around the island!"

  "But I was going to show her around," said Grandpa Po, frowning as if he were upset. "That's my job. You two are supposed to clean my house!"

  "You can come along if you want," said one of the girls.

  Grandpa Po sighed. "And drag these tired old bones all over the island? Absolutely not. The nerve of you girls, trying to make me walk all that way!"

  At that, the girls doubled over with laughter. Grandpa Po kept the frown on his face for a moment, then let the frown melt into a grin.

  "So can we show her around then?" said the girls.

  "Well, that's up to her," said Grandpa Po. Turning to Raka, he hiked a thumb in the direction of the twins. "These two are nothing but trouble," he said with a wink. "They're a bad influence. I don't like the idea of you wandering off with them, but if you really want to, I guess I can't stop you."

  Raka smiled. She thought that the twins looked like a lot of fun. "If you're sure you won't mind," she said to Grandpa Po.

  "Just don't let them talk you into anyth
ing crazy," said Grandpa Po. "Not that they'd ever do such a thing," he added, aiming a meaningful glare at the twins.

  "Never!" said one twin.

  "Of course not!" said the other.

  "Then go ahead," said Grandpa Po. "But meet me back here when the sun is at its highest. I want to walk you down to the lagoon to meet your Kee family."

  "I will, Grandpa Po," said Raka, getting up from her stool.

  "All right, then," said Grandpa Po. "Have fun, you three."

  The twins started out the door, and Raka moved to follow them. Before any of them had taken more than a few steps, however, Grandpa Po called out to them.

  "Hold on!" he said. "Get back here! I almost forgot something!"

  Raka walked back into the house. The twins followed, slouching their shoulders and looking annoyed at the latest delay.

  "I forgot to introduce you," said Grandpa Po. Extending a hand, he gestured at Raka. "This is Cryssa."

  "We know who she is," said one of the twins, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling. "Everybody knows who she is."

  "Cryssa," said Grandpa Po, gesturing at the twin who had just spoken. "I'd like you to meet Eenie."

  "Hi," said Raka, nodding at the girl, glad that Eenie wore a colorful seashell necklace and her sister didn't. If not for the necklace, Raka was certain that she wouldn't have been able to tell the twins apart.

  "Nice to meet you," Eenie said with a friendly smile and a wave.

  "And this is Ayla," said Grandpa Po, gesturing at the other twin.

  "Nice to meet you," said Ayla. Though she didn't wear a seashell necklace like Eenie, Ayla wore an

  eye-catching comb in her hair. The comb was dark green and looked like it had been carved from a tortoise shell; the handle was carved in the shape of a delicate flower with many petals.