CHAPTER FIFTEEN<\/p>\n
The two of us moved toward the dryside and as the wa-<\/p>\n
ters rippled around us in wake, I cheerfully chided my mate, \u201cYou<\/p>\n
thought I was fat? In all my years I will never be as fat as your<\/p>\n
head, you bait fish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, how was I to know?\u201d said he with a laugh.<\/p>\n
I looked at him in total shock at his naivet\u00e9. I splashed him<\/p>\n
in the face and, pretending insult, swam quickly away. It was be-<\/p>\n
coming more of a chore to stay ahead, for I was now swimming for<\/p>\n
two. Little Brother easily caught up and spoke a quick, mumbled,<\/p>\n
and squeaky apology. Then he splashed me full in the face, and<\/p>\n
the laughter returned to our journey as we sought the others. For<\/p>\n
the Conclave of all who sang in the sea was to be the greatest event<\/p>\n
ever since the beginning of ALL THAT IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD.<\/p>\n
As we traveled down the world telling all of the great gath-<\/p>\n
ering our play and love-making was restrained, as if the child I was<\/p>\n
carrying was some frightening mystery. With the passing of the<\/p>\n
tides, Little Brother once again began to act with the same reckless<\/p>\n
abandon of our idyllic days in the corals of Winsome Bright. He<\/p>\n
was a bit gentler and not quite as rough when we played the simple<\/p>\n
games that made us dolphin.<\/p>\n
I loved all the laughter and the games Little Brother invented,<\/p>\n
for if anything, I played even rougher than before. Often I would slap<\/p>\n
water full in his face with my tail for no other purpose than to hear<\/p>\n
him squeak in shock and delight at the deception. Fat indeed!<\/p>\n
For the moment, child bearing was a great lark, but there<\/p>\n
were some little things that caused me a bit of dismay. The child<\/p>\n
growing within me took away from my sleekness and also interfered<\/p>\n
with the smoothness of my swimming. For the most part, I felt I was<\/p>\n
swimming like a rock.<\/p>\n
My dives, however, did become things of great power. I could<\/p>\n
quickly drop into the deep, leaving my mate far behind. The return<\/p>\n
was an entirely different matter. Little Brother and I would surge<\/p>\n
up, and he would leap into the dryside in a great, powerful, rainbow<\/p>\n
arch. I, on the other fin, would surface only to flop back to where we<\/p>\n
belonged. Not quite a thing of beauty and grace.<\/p>\n
To compensate for the extra weight I was carrying, I began<\/p>\n
to eat more and more to add body fat, in theory — my theory — to<\/p>\n
increase my buoyancy. I would devour anything and everything: the<\/p>\n
firm fish that are sleek of skin and bright of eye, the twisted-legged<\/p>\n
squid, and also the slow and somewhat dull-eyed bottom fish that<\/p>\n
tasted like mud but were filling just the same.<\/p>\n
The odd thing was that everything was absolutely delicious<\/p>\n
— in unusual combinations, and in great quantities. I\u2019m sure Little<\/p>\n
Brother was dismayed and slightly disgusted with me, but what was<\/p>\n
I to do? Everything tasted so good.<\/p>\n
I came even to love the bitterness and texture of the long,<\/p>\n
floppy kelp, which normally no self-respecting dolphin would eat. In<\/p>\n
shock at my unusual diet, Little Brother would turn the color and<\/p>\n
hue of a stormy sea and swim away. I found myself eating alone<\/p>\n
quite often. It all tasted so good, and the extra fat did help me float,<\/p>\n
though like a water-soaked bit of dryside wood.<\/p>\n
The message carried by Little Brother and me was of ex-<\/p>\n
treme importance to all who lived in the sea. My mate would dash<\/p>\n
ahead to tell the others, and then return to check on my progress.<\/p>\n
He would usually find me chugging along, with my cheeks both<\/p>\n
plump and pumping, as I munched upon this or that.<\/p>\n
One tide, in the bright of the morning sun that warmed our<\/p>\n
sides as we swam, he said, \u201cI know that you are great with our child,<\/p>\n
but we must find some way to hurry on our way or the Conclave will<\/p>\n
be sung, and all we will hear is a vague echo in the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I am doing all I can,\u201d I argued. \u201cPerhaps you could help?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd how would you best propose, my sweet Laughter Ring,<\/p>\n
that I do that? Should I drag you through the seas with a bit of<\/p>\n
kelp? Or maybe you wish that I would carry you on my great back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHmm,\u201d I reflected in jest, \u201cyour back may be broad but I am<\/p>\n
afraid not sturdy enough for the child and me. Maybe you could<\/p>\n
give a ride to a bug-eye, something more your own size?\u201d<\/p>\n
I must have insulted Little Brother with my pregnant humor,<\/p>\n
for he swam ahead and soon disappeared. I lumbered along, my<\/p>\n
wake wide and without definition. Soon I was shocked to feel myself<\/p>\n
lifted slightly in the water, and there I was swimming at great speed.<\/p>\n
Below me, I could sense the strong undulations of Little<\/p>\n
Brother as he tried vainly to accommodate my wishes. I could feel,<\/p>\n
rather than hear, his laughter bubbling beneath me. Together, we final-<\/span><\/p>\n ly crashed through a wave and were left giggling in the surf and foam.<\/span><\/p>\n We rolled in the water nosing and slapping each other and<\/p>\n as was our desire we became delightfully entangled in love-making.<\/p>\n Our laughter and love was frozen in mid-giggle by dolphin voices.<\/p>\n In our frolic and play, we had broken into the perfect formation of<\/p>\n a regimented group of needle-nose dolphin, the strictest and most<\/p>\n organized in the sea. We settled down, feeling a bit foolish.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Little Brother said gathering his composure as<\/p>\n best he could. \u201cMy mate and I are on a quest to tell all of the Con-<\/p>\n clave, a great congregation of all the thinking creatures of the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n When he finished, the sea ran silent.<\/p>\n Finally, a wrinkled, narrow female spoke, \u201cAll this sounds<\/p>\n very suspect coming from two dolphin who cannot think two seri-<\/p>\n ous thoughts in a row. Could this be no more than a fabrication to<\/p>\n bring you laughter? How do we know whether you tell us nothing<\/p>\n more than fun-filled lies?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d the others chorused prudishly and prudently. \u201cHow do<\/p>\n we know that you do not lie?\u201d<\/p>\n I was ready, as was Little Brother, to bash a few heads to<\/p>\n convince this group of needle nose dolphins the truth of our words,<\/p>\n when we were interrupted.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause they tell the truth!\u201d<\/p>\n I spun to see our champion, only to be brushed aside by the<\/p>\n leader of the group who continued to speak. \u201cThese dolphin, silly<\/p>\n though they may be, do speak the truth. I have heard the Narwhal<\/p>\n sing in the colder waters. I have seen the whales throw themselves<\/p>\n up onto the dryside to die in protest of all the destruction wrought<\/p>\n by the sandwalker. I lost my mate to a shell-shark that carries the<\/p>\n sandwalker into the sea. We will join the Conclave!\u201d<\/p>\n This odd pod of dolphin, in their strict formation, promised<\/p>\n to carry the message of the Conclave as they made their way up the<\/p>\n seas to the gathering. It was with relief that we bid them farewell,<\/p>\n but not until they admonished us again for our silliness and inappro-<\/p>\n priate behavior.<\/p>\n Rebuked, we swam away in solemn silence.<\/p>\n \u201cForgive me, Laughter Ring, I am so silly,\u201d Little Brother<\/p>\n whispered as we moved away.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, it is not yours to forgive, for it was I who was most sil-<\/p>\n ly,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, no, little pregnant love-starved dolphin it was I and I<\/p>\n alone that was silliest of all. Yes, yes, I am silly most.\u201d Argued Lit-<\/p>\n tle Brother.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that I am silly most and more than you. You are<\/p>\n more the idiot.\u201d I snickered.<\/p>\n We could contain ourselves no longer and both broke into<\/p>\n laughter, and the waves rippled with our joy.<\/p>\n We continued on but it was becoming more and more evident<\/p>\n that in my advanced state of pregnancy, I was holding us slow in the<\/p>\n water. Soon Little Brother began swimming ahead crying out his<\/p>\n message to any and all who would hear.<\/p>\n One tide as I lumbered along he came rushing excitedly to<\/p>\n me. \u201cCome, my little lumpy lover,\u201d he laughed merrily, \u201cI have found<\/p>\n you a ride.\u201d<\/p>\n Curiously, I followed. Soon we came upon a large shell-<\/p>\n shark plowing through the water. I was shocked to see Little Brother<\/p>\n rush to the front of the beast. There he threw himself in its path<\/p>\n but, instead of being run over, he was carried along by the massive<\/p>\n wave it created as it hacked its way through the seas.<\/p>\n So this was his ride for me. With a giggle, I soon caught<\/p>\n up with the ponderous shell-shark and placed myself beside Little<\/p>\n Brother in this great shell-made wave. I was carried along effortless-<\/p>\n ly, and with an occasional kick or two, I would stay there, racing<\/p>\n along at great speed.<\/p>\n We glided this way, exhilarated by the effortless speed, shout-<\/p>\n ing to all of the coming Conclave. The message was received by a<\/p>\n small pod of whale here, and groups of dolphin and flipper-fin there,<\/p>\n as we moved along. Unfortunately, all good things soon come to an<\/p>\n end. When the great shell-shark reached shallow water, precursor to<\/p>\n the dryside, it slowed and then nearly stopped. Our free ride ended.<\/p>\n Little Brother began to swim once again under our own pow-<\/p>\n er, but it was obvious I was slowing us down. Finally, I stopped and<\/p>\n cried out to Little Brother who had rushed ahead.<\/p>\n He swam back to me, and I said, \u201cMy mate, my love, the<\/p>\n Conclave is too important. Go and tell all who would hear and<\/p>\n have them tell others. I will wait near the dryside, and when you are<\/p>\n finished come back for me. Together we shall move up the seas to<\/p>\n join the meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Brother protested about my safety but I quickly con-<\/p>\n vinced him that I would be safe. It was only after much arguing that<\/p>\n he reluctantly agreed, and after much cuddling, he resumed the<\/p>\n quest alone but unencumbered. I laughed at his warm memory as<\/p>\n I wiled the hours and tides, ever moving closer to shore where the<\/p>\n feeding was easy.<\/p>\n On the seventeenth tide after Little Brother departed, several<\/p>\n yellow-skinned shell-shark-hummers came buzzing into the cove<\/p>\n where I fed. I was much accustomed to the sandwalkers and their<\/p>\n odd, noisy craft. Truly, I feared them not at all, knowing I could eas-<\/p>\n ily escape if they became over-friendly. Besides, Little Brother and I<\/p>\n had taught Harmony that some of the puny-finned sandwalkers were<\/p>\n but curious to touch us.<\/p>\n As the hummers skittered about, they suddenly seemed to<\/p>\n be just over there, and there, and there. It was with much conster-<\/p>\n nation that I realized they seemed to be everywhere. Still I felt safe<\/p>\n in the knowledge that I could dive to safety if the need should arise,<\/p>\n and I continued my feeding.<\/p>\n Suddenly I knew that something was amiss. The shell-<\/p>\n sharks were moving slowly around me, circling in tighter and tighter<\/p>\n circles. If I swam this way they moved this way. If I swam that way<\/p>\n they moved that way, and now unfortunately I had been moved near-<\/p>\n ly to the dryside where I couldn\u2019t dive beneath them for the water<\/p>\n was too shallow. I decided to charge at them, and then veer off<\/p>\n between. In that way, I would gain the open water.<\/p>\n I rushed at the hummers, and then at the last moment, I dove<\/p>\n and was shocked nearly out of my wits to find myself wrapped in<\/p>\n the strange kelp web. I struggled only to become wound in these<\/p>\n unnatural nets. I had seen these webs before, but never had I been<\/p>\n tangled. How stupid of me!<\/p>\n I struggled and tore at the captive kelp, but only succeeded<\/p>\n in using all my reserve of sweet air, and my strength ebbed fast. I<\/p>\n needed to breathe.<\/p>\n I twisted and turned in the effort to free myself, but to no<\/p>\n avail. I prepared to die and to return to the end . . . the beginning.<\/p>\n Little Brother, my mate, my friend, I loved you. . .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CHAPTER FIFTEEN The two of us moved toward the dryside and as the wa- ters rippled around us in wake, I cheerfully chided my mate, \u201cYou thought I was fat? In all my years I will never be as fat as your head, you bait fish.\u201d \u201cWell, how was I to know?\u201d said he with […]<\/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-1355","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\/1355","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=1355"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1356,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1355\/revisions\/1356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}