Dolphin Child (3 page)

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.

‘
I’d love to see you for real’ he said. ‘Will you come to the
sea tomorrow morning?’

‘
Yes I can’ replied Lucy with an excited grin. ‘Down by Old
Man’s Cove at first light. You know the place.’ When Lucy was with
him for real, they could not talk together. It was only when Lucy
came to him as a vision that they were able to communicate with
each other, using neither human words nor dolphin clicks or
whistles, but something different to pass thoughts between
them.

Lucy stretched out her hand towards him. She could not truly
touch him when she came to him as an apparition. That would have to
wait till the next morning. As she did so, Lucy faded and then
disappeared into the water. Spirit was glad at the prospect of
seeing Lucy for real again. He gave Dancer a gentle nudge and she
woke up.

‘
You’re coming with me to see Lucy tomorrow morning’ he
said.

Now that the pod stayed in the waters close to the mainland,
it was much easier for Spirit to see Lucy. When he had stolen away
for his coming of age journey, it had taken Spirit a whole day to
swim from the waters near the islands to the mainland. It had been
a long and arduous swim. Now, if he chose, Spirit could swim to the
cliffs of the main body of land in less than an hour. The next
morning the dawn broke red across the sky as the veil of darkness
lifted. It used to be that Spirit would sleep through sunrise every
day. Now it was his favourite time to be awake. He nudged Dancer
until she opened her eyes and began to look around her.

‘
Come on sleepy head’ he said to the groggy-headed Dancer.
‘Let’s go.’ Dolphins are never fully asleep as humans are. One part
of their mind has to stay awake so that they can stay alert to
danger, keep their blow holes clear and breathe. Dancer
yawned.