Dolphin Child

by James Carmody

  Most of the children were still milling around but the boy with curly hair and a couple of the older kids seemed to have disappeared. Lucy suddenly felt shy again now she was near the group but strode across towards them anyway. A couple of the kids were shouting something and she turned to look at the direction they were shouting towards. To her surprise there was what looked like the opening to a tunnel in the sea wall which led back into the town. What seemed like a stream was trickling out of it over the rocks and into the sea. She guessed that the kids had disappeared into the tunnel and made her way quickly to the opening. She peered up into the tunnel’s dark mouth nervously.

  The tunnel ran a short way under a building and then opened up into the light again. The stream tumbled down over boulders and stones whilst old stone walls were built up on each side. Buildings lined the stream on each side at the top of the stone walls. Lucy could see the kids chasing the boy up the stream, jumping from rock to rock to avoid getting their feet wet. Lucy made her way after them, gingerly at first, trying to catch up and curious to know where they were going. They were still yelling insults at the boy who was running fast up the stream. He wasn’t bothering about trying to keep his feet dry and was just running through the water, his trainers sodden with water. The other two kids were more careful and so was Lucy. Up ahead the stream went under the High Street and she could hear the rumble of traffic and see one or two people walking past at pavement level overhead and glancing down at them curiously.

  Lucy kept going under the road. On the other side in the daylight again, she could see that the stream went up sharply, following the line of the hill. Then on the right there was a narrow channel where a smaller stream joined the main one. She paused. The two older kids had continued up along the main channel and disappeared around a bend, shouting as they went. Lucy had a feeling that the boy with curly hair might have slipped away up the smaller stream to shake them off. She decided to give it a go.

  The stone walls built up on each side of the smaller channel got very narrow really quickly, barely wider than her shoulders. The stones Lucy was walking over were also very slippery, with green algae and slime growing over them. Fortunately the stream here was barely a trickle and so her feet did not get wet. She glanced up. There were no buildings above them now and grass was growing over the edge of each side of the walls. The stream and walls curved round to the left and Lucy thought she could hear the boy ahead of her, though she wasn’t sure. Suddenly a stone hurtled past her head, banging noisily into the water at her feet.

  ‘Go away and leave me alone!’ the boy shouted down at her. Lucy looked up and could see him standing on the edge of the walled stream above her, with another stone held threateningly in his clenched fist.

  ‘It’s all right’ called Lucy quickly. ‘I’m not with them.’ The boy lowered his fist and let the stone drop. She could see that he had recognised her.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ he asked warily.

  ‘I didn’t want those kids to get you’ Lucy replied. ‘What was that all about anyway?’ She could see now where a stone wall on the left had tumbled down and she clambered up a steep grass bank to where the boy was standing. She was out of breath and sat down on the edge of the wall next to him, panting slightly.

  The boy didn’t answer but stared at her directly.

  ‘You’re a Dolphin-Child’ he said after a long pause. It was more a statement than a question. Lucy was nonplussed. She hadn’t expected him to say that. She’d never heard the term before and she could only guess what he meant by it.

  ‘What’s it to you anyway?’ she replied guardedly.

  ‘I saw you this morning. You were swimming with two dolphins. Only a Dolphin-Child can swim with them the way you did.’

  ‘What about you then? Are you one too?’ Lucy half hoped he was, but she didn’t even know what a Dolphin-Child was supposed to be though, not really.

  ‘No, well, I mean….’ He became unsure of himself. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Do you dream about them?’ Lucy asked.

  ‘Yes, yes I do’ he replied hesitantly.

  Chapter Two

  It was a bright calm day. Sunlight sparkled on the surface of the windless sea. Spirit broke the surface of the water to breath through his air hole and could see that the sun had almost reached its highest point in the sky. He sliced back through the low waves and continued to swim just below the surface.

  He was alone, returning from a pod of dolphins that lived beyond the islands to the south. Spirit felt a sense of independence and freedom at being away from the other members of his own pod for a while. A few moons ago, he had left the pod for his own coming of age swim in the same way that his best friend Dancer had a year before that. Unlike Dancer though, he had stolen away in the middle of the night because Storm, the oldest dolphin in their pod, had forbidden him from going. He’d got into trouble and he knew that he was lucky to be alive and well today. Spirit had got trapped in a loop of steel cable from a discarded sea buoy and had thought that he was going to die there. He could never have imagined how he would end up being saved. The wounds where the steel cable had cut into his tail had healed now, but he would carry the scars for the rest of his life.

  Spirit used the be the smallest dolphin in the pod, but he was growing fast and soon he’d be bigger than Dancer he reckoned, though she joked that he’d have to catch himself a few more herring before that happened. Spirit had a small star-like mark on his chest and it was that identifying sign which Storm had said first hinted to them that he was in some way special and out of the ordinary. Spirit felt pretty normal really, but some extraordinary things had happened to him over the last few months and he knew that his life would never be the same again.

  Since then Spirit had learned much more about the lore of the sea and was confident to swim alone, even if it was always safer with the rest of the pod. Spirit was careful to use his ability to echo-locate using clicking and monitor what was in the sea around him. He didn’t want killer whales to ambush him like they had done once before when he was with Storm. Spirit like all dolphins was able to emit high-pitched clicks from his head without even opening his mouth. When water visibility was poor, which was often the case, the high-pitched clicks would bounce off any fish or rocks in the water and return to him, enabling him to construct a mental picture of what was in front of him, even when he could not actually see with his eyes. This echo-location was a valuable tool and he had learned to rely on it much more over the past few months.

  Spirit listened as he swam. Across the vast expanse of ocean, he could hear whales calling to each other in the far distance, their eerie and haunting songs travelling tens of miles between the great mammals of the deep. Spirit could not yet hear the whistles and clicks of his own pod, but he knew that he soon would. His pod used to live much closer to islands but now, though they never stayed in one part of the sea for too long, they had moved nearer to the mainland and that suited Spirit well.

  Spirit had been sent on what Storm had called a mission, though Chaser, another dolphin in the pod, had jokingly said that was too grand a term for what was really just a messenger errand. Spirit knew what he meant, but it had been an exciting trip nevertheless and he was eager to get back to the pod and tell them what had happened. Before long he could hear the calls of his own pod members and knew that he did not have far to go before he was back amongst them.

  It was Dancer of course that was the first to swim up and greet him.

  ‘Hey Spirit, it’s so good to see you again’ she called happily, swimming up and around him. He chased her and they leapt excitedly from the water before twisting tightly around each other. Eventually they rested on the surface and laughed.

  ‘So were you successful?’ asked Dancer curiously.

  ‘I’m not sure. I hope so’ he replied. The other dolphins in the pod swam up and greeted him, gently rubbing noses. Moonlight and Summer both nudged him affectionately while Storm, Chaser and Breeze looked on. Summer’s
newly born calf hung in the water next to his mother, not knowing what to do. Dolphins do not name their calves until three summers have passed, once the pod know the true character of the new addition. Until he was old enough to be named properly, the pod called any calves ‘No-Name’. Yet already Summer said that she had a feeling that her calf might be called Shimmer, the same name as a wise old dolphin that had died a few months before.

  ‘What of your trip Spirit?’ asked Storm seriously. Though the pod did not have a leader, Storm was the oldest among them and carried most authority. Spirit had been sent on a special journey to try and restore peace among two neighbouring pods. A young dolphin called Blue, just a little older than Spirit himself, had argued with his own pod and run away to another without telling them. It reminded Spirit of the time that he himself had swum away in the dead of night to go on his ‘coming of age’ swim. Blue though was angry with his pod and did not want to go back. He had taken up with another group of dolphins further away from the islands and as a result the two pods had become estranged. They had clashed angrily, chasing the same shoals of fish and the council of dolphins had asked Storm to go and intervene. But Storm had sent Spirit instead, saying to everyone’s surprise that the younger dolphin was better able to restore the peace than he was. Though Storm did not admit it, he was not entirely sure that he was right. Now he was anxious to find out.

  ‘The trip went well I think Storm’ replied Spirit cautiously. ‘At first I could tell that Blue was really angry and that he did not want to listen to anything I would say. So I didn’t say anything at all but stayed with the pod and got to know them all slowly. They’d heard a little of my story and wanted to know more. Eventually Blue realised that he was not so very different to me and we got to like each other.

  I told him about what had happened to me. Then he opened up about why he had run away. I don’t know, but I think that maybe he will go and see his own pod again. I hope they’ll start talking again anyway. I thought I might go back and see Blue again soon.’

  ‘You have done well Spirit’ said Storm. ‘Now rest awhile. You can tell us all more later.’

  ‘Yes and all the gossip and stories’ added Breeze. Spirit smiled.

  ‘Of course’ he said.

  It felt good to be back. In a way his trip had not been so important, but he knew that Storm had put his trust in the young dolphin and Spirit hadn’t wanted to let him down. Just a few months ago, he had been eager to prove that he was the equal of all the others in the pod. Now that he was accepted without question, he felt he truly had come of age. Yet there was an edge to his newly found respect. The others thought that he was different to them and apart from Dancer, he wondered whether at some level his connection to Lucy made them all a bit wary of him. The group spread out again and he and Dancer swam along together, talking quietly.

  ‘What was it really like?’ asked Dancer.

  ‘I was so nervous’ admitted Spirit ‘At first no one would speak to me at all. I was ready just to turn around and come straight back again. But I was hungry and I needed to swim with them to hunt and feed. After the hunting trip the others seemed to warm to me a little, but Blue just ignored me. I can’t say I liked him. It’s no wonder that his home pod were angry with him. Like I said to Storm though, I did get through to him in the end, but you can’t imagine how glad I am to get home to you all.’ Dancer laughed appreciatively. She was just happy to have her friend back again.

  Breeze called out to say that he had spotted a shoal of mackerel a league or so to the east and the dolphins set off to hunt. They swam round and round the shoal until it formed into a tight ball. Then one by one the dolphins plunged into the middle, each taking a fish or two before giving the next dolphin a turn. Though they could have eaten every fish, they were not like humans, who would scoop up every last one in their nets. They let the larger part of the shoal escape.

  ‘That way’ said Breeze, ‘we will eat again another day.’

  Spirit caught two fish and having eaten the first, took the second smaller fish to where Summer’s calf was watching apprehensively. Not long ago, Spirit had been the youngster of the pod. Now No-Name was trying to find her way in the world, keeping close to her mother’s side and calling out anxiously if she thought they might be separated. Spirit nudged the fish playfully towards the young calf, but she didn’t really know what to do with it.

  ‘She’s still drinking milk you know Spirit’ smiled Summer. ‘I’ll have that fish though’ she laughed, snapping it up. ‘I’m eating for two at the moment.’ Spirit still marvelled at how small and vulnerable Summer’s calf was. No-Name had not learnt to speak yet and Spirit could hardly remember ever having been that small.

  It made him think of his own mother, Star-Gazer. She had disappeared in a storm fifteen moons ago. He had been much older than Summer’s calf was now when Star-Gazer had disappeared, but he still felt her loss. It ached within him. He would never be able to tell his mother everything that had happened to him since she had disappeared and how his life had been transformed over the past few months. How he wished he could still speak to her. The wound of her loss was still raw and was all the more difficult because he didn’t know what had happened to her.

  ‘Star-Gazer was a good mother to you’ said Summer, guessing at his thoughts. ‘I hope I am as good a mother to this little one. Spirit smiled with his eyes, feeling emotional and then turned slightly to hide his feelings.

  ‘I remember one time before you were born’ Summer went on dreamily, ‘when we were both looking up at the stars one night. Star-Gazer wouldn’t let me sleep, though I was ready to. She said that something special was just about to happen and she was right. Five shooting stars streaked across the sky and seemed to hit the sea not far from where we were. Even though it was dark, Star-Gazer insisted that we chase after them. In stories it is said that it’s the light from shooting stars that gives fish their iridescent silvery scales, but Star-Gazer told me that was nonsense. She hoped to find out what shooting stars were really made of. I was only interested if you could eat them, but she searched and searched with a passion all night long. We never did find those shooting stars in the water and when dawn came we slept for most of the next day.’

  She looked back at Spirit. He was lost in thought.

  ‘Get along now’ she said. Summer understood how he felt. Spirit swam a short way off on his own. Dancer joined him.

  ‘You okay?’ she asked.

  ‘I think so’ he replied. Spirit glanced up. High above, he could see that a cloud had passed in front of the sun and the sea was in shadow. It would soon pass though, he thought.

  ‘I know what you need’ continued Dancer.

  ‘More fish?’ Spirit attempted a weak joke.

  ‘No silly. You need time with Lucy. Has she come to you in the last couple of days?’

  Lucy had a unique gift; a special technique of being able to use the power of her mind to pass from dry land to the watery world of dolphins. She had a particular connection with Spirit and it was him that she normally visited, but when Spirit had been trapped, Lucy had used her powers to transport herself and contact Dancer instead. Together they had been able to help save their friend’s life. It had been so strange for Dancer to see this apparition, gliding along underwater effortlessly in a way that no human should be able to do, her hair floating out like the tentacles of a sea anemone. It was almost as though Lucy were a ghost.

  Yet when they saved Spirit, Dancer had also seen the real Lucy in the water, stroking Spirit’s flank, talking to him softly with words that she could not understand. It was then that Dancer had realised just how special the link between Spirit and Lucy actually was. They appeared to give each other a kind of energy. It seemed to Dancer that Lucy helped made Spirit feel complete.

  Dancer couldn’t explain it, but just accepted it. She didn’t feel at all jealous. She understood that Spirit was different from most other dolphins, but it seemed a good thing to her, not a bad thing. Not everyone in the
pod thought the same as Dancer though.

  Spirit had been away on a challenging trip to another pod for a couple of days and though he would not admit it, Dancer could tell that he was tired. Being with Lucy again was just what he needed, she thought. It would re-energize him.

  ‘Can you not just call to Lucy and get her to come to you somehow?’ Dancer asked. Spirit gave a shake of his head.

  ‘I haven’t learned how to do that. Maybe I never will. I don’t know. Somehow Lucy uses her mind to stretch out to me, but I cannot do the same when I want to’ Spirit replied. ‘I can’t stretch out to her. I will have to wait until she is ready to come to me again.’

  It seemed unfair to Dancer that humans could put their heads underwater and glimpse the world in which dolphins lived, but dolphins could not look up into the world of humans. Yes they could poke their heads into the air, or even leap high out of the water and see boats and such things, but they could never visit the places where humans lived. It was like looking into the night sky and trying to guess what it was like to live on the moon.

  ‘She’ll come to you soon, don’t you worry’ Dancer assured him.

  The pod came together again and rested a while just under the surface while their stomachs digested their catch of fish. Dancer’s words were truer than she thought. As they relaxed, Spirit suddenly found that Lucy was by his side. It always took him by surprise, no matter how often it happened.

  ‘Hi Spirit’ she said. ‘How was your trip to the pod where Blue is staying? Did you bring him back to his own pod?’ Spirit quickly explained to Lucy what had happened. He never knew how long she would be able stay with him. It was exhausting he knew for her to linger there with him for any length of time. She was more practiced now and though once or twice she had stayed with him for over half an hour, even now she might disappear after a minute or two, fading away in front of his eyes.