CHAPTER THIRTEEN<\/p>\n
As Little Brother and I left our friend, the great white whale,<\/p>\n
we felt fouled from all the cruelty and horror that we had seen. Try<\/p>\n
though we might, it did not seem possible to quickly cleanse our-<\/p>\n
selves of our terrible adventure. The seas were soiled, perhaps<\/p>\n
forever, and all our senses were clouded and gray.<\/p>\n
We swam hard and fast down from the up of the earth to-<\/p>\n
wards the warmer waters of Winsome Bright. With every wave, we<\/p>\n
seemed to swim faster and faster, as if speed alone could eradicate<\/p>\n
the memories etched so deeply.<\/p>\n
With muscles working in concert, I darted from side to side<\/p>\n
and quick-breached to gain even more speed. The grip and ripple of<\/p>\n
the water as it smoothly crossed over my body made me feel eel-<\/p>\n
slick and sinewy.<\/p>\n
My heart boldly pounded, reminding me of my mortality, and I<\/p>\n
pushed even harder, twisting my body in torturous, powerful undula-<\/p>\n
tions. I felt fast and the faster I felt, the faster I swam.<\/p>\n
I had always been quicker than Little Brother and loved to<\/p>\n
challenge him to race after race, knowing the sure outcome of every<\/p>\n
challenge. He gamely tried to beat me, but rarely did. Even now,<\/p>\n
as we raced away from both good memory and bad, he was hard<\/p>\n
pressed to keep up as I slip-breached through the waters, chasing<\/p>\n
tuna-tails and bits of froth.<\/p>\n
I was tired from all the adventures with our new friend, Har-<\/p>\n
mony, yet I was still excited about our travels throughout the seas.<\/p>\n
We had not been back to the corals of Winsome Bright since birth.<\/p>\n
The memory of the beginning of that particular delight burned hotly<\/p>\n
in both our souls and urged us on faster and faster.<\/p>\n
But there was change coming — great change. Little Brother<\/p>\n
and I could feel it but really didn\u2019t know what it was. The sun still<\/p>\n
set in purples turned to black, and morning still peeked from wave<\/p>\n
to wave in a silver wash of golden hush. The fish were sweet to eat,<\/p>\n
Little Brother was still a delightful fool, but yet there was something<\/p>\n
different — odd, not about the water but rather about us.<\/p>\n
It was a time as if I could feel my body grow. I felt longer and<\/p>\n
sleeker. I felt both vain and embarrassed by my vanity. For the first<\/p>\n
time, <\/span>I felt that I was different from Little Brother and he was different<\/p>\n from me. It was frightening. It made me mad at him and him at me.<\/p>\n Now this feeling made me swim faster still, and in time I had<\/p>\n distanced myself from my mate.<\/p>\n My mate? To say, even think that word both angered and<\/p>\n confused me. Was he my mate? Always, we had been the best of<\/p>\n friends and, as such, we had called each other \u201cmate,\u201d but what<\/p>\n did it really mean? Were we mates as friends, or friends as mates?<\/p>\n Why was I faster than he? Yet why did I feel as though I should be<\/p>\n slower and allow him to protect me? Was I destined to be dominat-<\/p>\n ed? Was this what was meant by being female: one who subordi-<\/p>\n nates her own feelings to the feelings of her mate, her best friend.<\/p>\n My mind spun round like a waterspout.<\/p>\n Little Brother finally caught up with me after I arrived at a<\/p>\n small atoll where the waters were warm and blue. His breath came<\/p>\n in ragged gasps of vented air mixed with laughter. \u201cWhy,\u201d he ques-<\/p>\n tioned, \u201care you swimming so fast? Do you fear Harmony\u2019s Nar-<\/p>\n whal, or do you race your tail, a race that can never be won?\u201d<\/p>\n I turned and nipped in anger. \u201cIf you can\u2019t keep up,\u201d said I,<\/p>\n \u201cthen follow my wake and catch up at a leisure pace like the turtles<\/p>\n that wallow in the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n He backed away, his eyes turning icy.<\/p>\n I continued angrily but not really knowing why, \u201cIf you<\/p>\n weren\u2019t such a coddish clown, and had learned to swim as a child,<\/p>\n you wouldn\u2019t have so much trouble keeping up!\u201d I railed.<\/p>\n We swam on in icy silence, only stopping at times to slap<\/p>\n verbal insults at one another, then we would swim on again, sulk-<\/p>\n ing all the while, only to stop and rest — and spit more indignities.<\/p>\n Finally, with eyes squeezed tight, we swam on in total silence, no<\/p>\n longer speaking.<\/p>\n Yes, something was different, and though we never spoke<\/p>\n of it, both Little Brother and I felt it. Was all this in response to a<\/p>\n chance meeting with a whale and all that we had seen? Is every-<\/p>\n thing changed because of that or is this what it means to get old-<\/p>\n er? Is up really up or down really down? Or is this simply another<\/p>\n mystery, to be solved with the old parental dictum, \u201cWhen you are<\/p>\n older, you\u2019ll know.\u201d<\/p>\n No answers, but many questions clouded my horizon. I<\/p>\n soon found myself loathing the friend whom I had known and<\/p>\n shared all with since birth, since tides too numerous to count.<\/p>\n Finally, at the end of our stormy trip, we arrived under bright,<\/p>\n blue skies at our destination — the corals of Winsome Bright. Our<\/p>\n anger — no, truly it was my anger alone that brought on his anger —<\/p>\n seemed diffused and softened in this place of magical delight.<\/p>\n We began to zip about in the waters, racing only a breath<\/p>\n away from the sharp coral walls as we chased bright butterfly fishes<\/p>\n that dashed away in explosions of light. This exuberance at reach-<\/p>\n ing our destination put distance on the memories of the horrors and<\/p>\n difficulties of the journey, but I still felt charged like the clouds of a<\/p>\n loud-noised storm.<\/p>\n I filled myself with the joy of the lagoons and bays, pretend-<\/p>\n ing Little Brother was but a pest best forgotten. I swam about this<\/p>\n coral sea, amazed as always how fishes changed with the waters,<\/p>\n from the deep silvers, blues and purples of colder fish, to pinks,<\/p>\n blues, and yellows of the apparently slower, but happier, fishes that<\/p>\n swam in these waters.<\/p>\n There was a constant celebration of all of life here, a feeling<\/p>\n of a festive tide-to-tide party that had continued since the very be-<\/p>\n ginning of time. This was the feeling; the emotion sensed by those<\/p>\n who entered these magical, coral pools of Winsome Bright.<\/p>\n Oh, and how the memories of a youth long past flooded<\/p>\n one\u2019s senses with bubbles of joy and ecstasy, as I swam in the<\/p>\n warm waters of this enchanted place.<\/p>\n Ridges of coral were rounded about the atolls and tiny is-<\/p>\n lands of the bright side, the dryside. Fishes darted about, playing<\/p>\n the silly games that ring true with the survival of all in no matter the<\/p>\n water, but here it was funny, here it was wonderful.<\/p>\n I swam with the fishes, and chased them in sport and chased<\/p>\n them for food. I feasted, and then washed myself clean of my an-<\/p>\n ger-filled journey to this idyllic place and Little Brother did the same.<\/p>\n But still and all, he and I maintained our distance because we<\/p>\n were different, we were changed, and it seemed that these changes<\/p>\n were to be forever. When I felt the need to be in his company and<\/p>\n went to him, once there I felt nothing but agitation towards him and<\/p>\n soon after would swim away. Once away, I wished only to seek him<\/p>\n out again.<\/p>\n What was going on?<\/p>\n There were other times that I would rush to his side and<\/p>\n breach over him as I had done in the earlier tides of our childhood.<\/p>\n He would begin to play, and I would begin to play, and then for some<\/p>\n insignificant reason I would turn and order him to go away. I was<\/p>\n very confused about my feelings and could only imagine what Little<\/p>\n Brother must be feeling — although how he felt was certainly no con-<\/p>\n cern of mine. My own feelings were turned first on, then off, like a<\/p>\n waterspout.<\/p>\n Finally he could take no more of my cruelty and angrily<\/p>\n rebuffed me with, \u201cLeave me be, little girl. Swim alone in these<\/p>\n waters, and if you should find me by accident in some sheltered<\/p>\n bay, warn me that you are coming and I will swim away!\u201d With that<\/p>\n he surged into the surf and with a flip of his tail disappeared in the<\/p>\n foam of an arcing wave.<\/p>\n \u201cAh, good riddance,\u201d said I as he left me alone. \u201cWhat I need<\/p>\n is some peace and quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n I swam without aim, idling my time by eating constantly of<\/p>\n the sweet little fishes when I wasn\u2019t even hungry — the ultimate sin<\/p>\n of the sea. In this black mood of desperate straits, I came suddenly<\/p>\n upon the oddest whale I had ever seen. She was white to the point<\/p>\n of almost being pink and plump as could be. Her eyes twinkled<\/p>\n as she watched me streak through the waters of Winsome Bright.<\/p>\n Delighted at last to have someone to talk with besides that dull but<\/p>\n clownish Little Brother, I swam near. \u201cMy name is Laughter Ring,<\/p>\n and I have come here to Winsome Bright after a long journey in<\/p>\n order to rinse myself clean of all that I have seen,\u201d I gushed.<\/p>\n She laughed in a low rolling song and then began, \u201cAh,<\/p>\n my little one, I know. I have listened to you and your mate playing<\/p>\n throughout the waters of Winsome Bright.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe is not my mate!\u201d I snapped. \u201cWe have unfortunately<\/p>\n known each other since birth, and as such have called each other<\/p>\n mate, but it is only by a twist of fate that we have been together on<\/p>\n this journey at all.\u201d I paused, embarrassed at my outburst.<\/p>\n The tension broken, I laughed, \u201cWho and what are you?\u201d<\/p>\n She laughed again, and her sides rolled with the merriment<\/p>\n she carried within. \u201cI am a Beluga and the others that have come<\/p>\n here before you called me Momma Love.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d I continued, \u201cMomma Love, it is wonderful to have a<\/p>\n creature of intellect to talk with. I have found you just in the nick of<\/p>\n time, for Little Brother has been swimming me crazy. He is such a<\/p>\n baby. All he wants to do is play and make childish jokes. It is good<\/p>\n that I am away from him. Even now I can hear him as he swims<\/p>\n away from me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd does that make you happy?\u201d asked Momma Love.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly,\u201d I said resolutely, \u201cIt makes me very happy that<\/p>\n the tuna-brain has gone away. It makes me very content indeed<\/p>\n that that bubble-butted, jelly-fished, flat-eyed, kelp-finned, wannabe<\/p>\n swimming sandwalker has gone from my life forever. Now I will have<\/p>\n a chance for some peace.\u201d<\/p>\n Momma Love looked at me with her great soft eyes, and gen-<\/p>\n tly asked, \u201cBut then, why do you cry?\u201d<\/p>\n It was only then I realized I was uncontrollably sobbing<\/p>\n adding to the salt in the sea. \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d I blubbered. \u201cEvery-<\/p>\n thing seems to be changing so fast, and I don\u2019t understand what<\/p>\n is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, like a crested wave washing to the dryside, I told Mom-<\/p>\n ma Love all that had happened. I rambled and railed about how I<\/p>\n felt about this and that blaming all on Little Brother.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a pain,\u201d I cried. \u201cI hate him!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHardly that,\u201d she said, as her eyes twinkled. \u201cYou are in love.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWith him?\u201d I asked incredulously. \u201cHow could anyone be<\/p>\n in love with a silly dolphin who wears kelp-weed on his head like a<\/p>\n crown? Me? In love with a shell-brained fool like Little Brother?\u201d I<\/p>\n backed quickly away from this Beluga in revulsion.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, it is true, little one,\u201d she blithely continued. \u201cYou are<\/p>\n in love and you should not fear that which will come. Listen, child,<\/p>\n once I felt just as you do. Sometimes, I fought that change from<\/p>\n childhood to adulthood, and then at other times I tried to urge it to<\/p>\n come faster. But all things in time, and in time all things. It is well to<\/p>\n wait for complete commitment, for true love, but don\u2019t be so blind<\/p>\n that you cannot see that which should be.\u201d<\/p>\n With that, Momma Love laughed and swam away, leaving<\/p>\n me swirling in the wake of all that she had said. \u201cIn love with Little<\/p>\n Brother? Me? Just wait until I tell him. If ever there has been a<\/p>\n joke to be told in the sea, it is this.\u201d I quickly, even eagerly, sought<\/p>\n out my old friend, Little Brother, in the corals of Winsome Bright.<\/p>\n I found him in a shallow, warm-water pool nose-to-nose<\/p>\n with a clacker claw. It was only with a bit of gentle teasing that I<\/p>\n convinced him that I had more to say than his hard-shelled friend.<\/p>\n Eventually, I coaxed him into the deeper waters that surrounded this<\/p>\n atoll. I laughingly told him all that had happened. He joined in my<\/p>\n laughter as I told him of Momma Love and her hilarious observation<\/p>\n that he and I were in love.<\/p>\n It felt so good to laugh again with my friend — my lover.<\/p>\n My lover?<\/p>\n How did that word slip into my thoughts? What was this<\/p>\n feeling that had come over me? Had Momma Love cast a spell over<\/p>\n me to allow such language to seep into my vocabulary?<\/p>\n I watched Little Brother frolic in the foam of the oncoming<\/p>\n waves and I had to admit there was a sleekness about him, a mus-<\/p>\n cular grace that belied his silly nature. I shook my head and spit<\/p>\n the thought from my mind. That\u2019s it! I was losing my sanity. Little<\/p>\n Brother? Muscular grace?<\/p>\n Coral crap!<\/p>\n I found my mind switching from thoughts of loathing to lov-<\/p>\n ing like the swishing of a sharp-fin\u2019s tail.<\/p>\n As the golden light dropped into the sea mixing all in purpled<\/p>\n splendor, Little Brother inadvertently smoothed against my side. A<\/p>\n charge, like the touch of a twisty fire eel, burst from my dorsal to the<\/p>\n tip of my tail, and I was changed forever. The waters turned a ghost-<\/p>\n ly blue and light flashed on the waves. It wasn\u2019t just me, for in Little<\/p>\n Brother\u2019s eyes I saw a change, a gentling. A fever set over us and<\/p>\n cast our blood afire.<\/p>\n The winds of the dryside, filled with the essence of whisper-<\/p>\n ing, golden sands — heady perfume. We paused gazing into one<\/p>\n another\u2019s eyes and for the first time, but forever and a day, we saw<\/p>\n and touched each other\u2019s souls. Then, for no apparent reason we<\/p>\n raced off leaping from crest to crest, seeming not to touch the water.<\/p>\n We swam as one; we were one, our bodies coiled and spinning.<\/p>\n There was only the beating of one heart, the passion of one mind.<\/p>\n We were wed on that night of the silverside moon. With the commit-<\/p>\n ment of our souls, we dedicated ourselves to each other and to the<\/p>\n will of ALL THAT IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD.<\/p>\n Far out to sea, I sensed the gentle rolling laughter of<\/p>\n Momma Love.<\/p>\n We rested enraptured there in those still waters for hundreds<\/p>\n of tides, I truly know not how long. Life took on new meaning. We<\/p>\n became bonded and, like the others that had come before, noth-<\/p>\n ing would part us save death. We pledged to live and die together.<\/p>\n Nothing would separate us.<\/p>\n Under the watchful eye of delightful Momma Love, we learned<\/p>\n of the joys and responsibilities of adulthood. We were filled with<\/p>\n a longing to know more of one another — to join both in spirit and<\/p>\n life\u2019s direction. What Little Brother would do for the rest of his life,<\/p>\n so would I. Where I would go, he would follow. These were more<\/p>\n than simple pledges cast upon an empty shore. These vows would<\/p>\n bind us for all of eternity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CHAPTER THIRTEEN As Little Brother and I left our friend, the great white whale, we felt fouled from all the cruelty and horror that we had seen. Try though we might, it did not seem possible to quickly cleanse our- selves of our terrible adventure. The seas were soiled, perhaps forever, and all our senses […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1347"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1349,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1347\/revisions\/1349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}