A Dolphin’s Life
N. THOMPSON
It was dawn, a silvery light that shimmered and glistened, fading into yellow and scarlet colours. Illuminated in this rainbow, a solitary dolphin dived in and out of the water, breaking the rippling waves with ease. On its face, a hint of a smile lit up his otherwise serious expression. As the sky turned a pale blue, he reluctantly turned his back to the tide, gliding slowly to the pod’s home.
Consternation and agitated clicks greeted James as he dived home; his early swim had been discovered. Voices rose and fell, some clicking that he should have independence, others scolding him roundly. Elder, the pod’s leader, swam in, quietening murmurs. He spoke, “My fellow dolphins, I agree that calves must ask permission, but the race of dolphins must become independent for, when you were young, did you not wish for freedom? Lad, this must not happen again. You may go.
The clicks subsided , and the pod prepared for their morning swim. Groups always look spectacular, and as James watched the bulls and cows, he felt that they surpassed themselves. Left in shallow water, he mimicked their moves, mastering some, failing others. At the head, Elder turned a series of flips and barrel rolls, extremely hard to maneuver, and flicked his head in James’ direction. Surprised, James executed the maneuver; his supple body carrying him through. Elder nodded, and James felt a thrill of pride. Later that day, Elder’s deputy, Sia, a glamorous Amazon River Dolphin, announced that Elderhad come to the conclusion that he wished to travel, to relocate their home. The dolphins shrugged; they were used to this by now. The pod moved every couple of years, but for James, this was the first time.He turned to his mother, who was gesturing to some cows, and asked,”Mother, dearest, where are we going?” His mother responded, “James, dear, we do not know. We wait to find out. Now, run along and play.” James swivelled round slowly, and swam away to his hiding spot, pondering over the future.
The next day, the journey began. The calves chattered noisily, lazily swimming behind the pod, stopping sometimes to investigate anything that caught their attention. James, however, concentrated on perfecting a routine of somersaults, acrobatics and flips. When he had nailed it, he leaped over to the pod, some bulls roughly pushing him away. Eventually, he reached the head, where Elder and Sia were conversing quietly amongst themselves. He nervously clicked, whereupon they turned their heads. “ Elder, Sia, may I show you my routine?” Sia made as if to gently ease him away, but Elder motioned her to stop. “Lad, you may, but quickly, please. We are in rather a hurry.”
James leapt and somersaulted, twisted and twirled. Sia drew in a sharp breath as he mimicked Elder’s performance of the day before. When the routine ended, his body was shining, eyes laughingly playful. Elder spoke, his voice heavy with emotion. “You, you have a skill beyond your generation. I always hoped to have a dolphin that could do things like, like my son could do.” James had not heard that Elder had a son, but he wisely decided to stay quiet. Elder sighed, “Sia, please go. This is a private conversation.” She gracefully swam off, and Elder resumed his talk.
“This is for your ears only, lad. I used to have a calf. He was just like you. I used to bathe on the rocks, watching him tumble, flip and turn. He had a marvellous determination to master a move when he had started it. One tragic day, he went for a morning swim. He disappeared. Three days later, his body floated home. It was blood-red, contorted as if killed while taking a last tumble. I had taught him everything I knew.”
Elder stared into the horizon, his eyes wet with passionate tears. “I will talk to you later, lad. Call Sia to me. Our new home is in view.” James parted, mind whirring, and rejoined the pod. Straight ahead, a large cave appeared. The pod turned, and, as one, leapt to the cave, where Elder called a halt. James slipped off and crept unnoticed into the cave. He ignored the carefully shaped dolphin rocks. He ignored the abundant seaweed, instead heading towards the recesses. A glow consistently flickered and faded, and James was keen to investigate. The cave’s recesses seemed everlasting, until…
BANG! His mouth met a dark walk. He peered at the wall, confused. Still, the glow kept going, slightly to the side. His sharp eyes noted a tunneland, all senses aroused, swam through it. Light flooded into a cavernous cave, brightened by the sun. He rotated round, taking in the rippling waves’ reflection, the cool water refreshing his body. Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to the darkest corner, where a flipper flopped slightly. He tumbled over and found himself face to face with a pure white calf, a female dolphin in agony of pain. Blood dripped endlessly from a gaping wound at the tip of her tail. He murmured gently, “You must come to my pod. We will take care of you. Come.” Her eyes remained fixed on James, her desperation plain. She answered slowly. “ Thank You. My name is Lily. My pod abandoned me.”
James tenderly lifted into the water, supporting her as she struggled on. Through the tunnel they went, back to the dolphin rocks, where his pod was resting. He found a comfortable boulder and she sank onto it gratefully. James, mind full of her beauty, head full of her pain, half-heartedly somersaulted over to Elder, who was surveying the pod with stately appoval. His mother and father were perched next to Elder, clicking at each other furiously. At his arrival, they paused, waiting for him to begin. “Elder, Mama, Papa, there’s a lovely albino calf who needs urgent help!” He recounted his tale, their faces growing wider as he did so. When he had finished, they slid into the waves and disappeared from sight. James saw their heads pop up at Lily’s rock. Her eyelids were fluttering with exhaustion, and the faint tinge of death hovered over her fragile frame. If something wasn’t done, Lily would be lost.
