Dolphin Child Read Online Free PDF Page A

seen her for real two more times before she did and
even then she had been with a fully grown adult on a boat, while he
had been in the water. It was not the same as swimming with
her.
    Lucy had come to him using the power of her mind many times
since, but to see her in real life still felt special, even though
they could not speak when they did. Now she was back by the sea and
he had seen her for real half a dozen times or more, carrying her
on his back and feeling her warm skin against his own.
    The two dolphins broke the waves happily as they sped
along.
    ‘ I’m hungry’ complained Dancer.
    ‘ We’ll eat soon enough’ replied Spirit. ‘You can wait a while
yet for your breakfast’ he joked.
    They neared the high grey cliffs which sheered up above them.
They were the tallest things that Spirit had ever seen. Gulls
wheeled lazily above them in the updrafts from the sea. It was
along this stretch that he had become disorientated and confused by
a human on a jet ski machine and then he had been ensnared in a
great loop of steel cord attached to a discarded buoy. The thought
of it made him wince. He had learned since about how to deal with
the jarring noise of jet skis and had encountered them several
times since without problems, though the sound did still give him a
terrible headache. He was glad when he had swum out of sight of
that spot.
    ‘ Can you see her yet?’ asked Dancer. Spirit took a low leap
over the waves to look.
    ‘ I think so’ he replied uncertainly. He could see a figure
sitting on a rock by the water’s edge, knees tucked up under her
chin, looking out to sea. They got closer. ‘Yes, it is
her!’
    As they approached Lucy spotted them and stood up on the rock
and waved in their direction. She called out making noises that
they could not understand.
    ‘ That’s her alright!’ exclaimed Dancer. She was pleased to see
Lucy too. Dancer had only seen her once since Lucy had returned to
the coast. It may be that Spirit had a special connection with Lucy
but Dancer was very fond of her too.
    When they were a metre or two from the rock where Lucy was
standing, she jumped into the sea next to him. Spirit could tell
that for a human she was a good swimmer, but she was vulnerable in
the sea with its strong currents and undertows and he had to take
care of her.
    Lucy stretched out her hand and touched Spirits flank. Again
he felt a current of energy pass between the two of them and a
sense of understanding beyond anything that could be said in words.
She said something and looked him in the eye. He could feel that
she was happy to be with him, just as he was happy to be with her.
Her eyes glowed warmly. They were both set in the front of her face
whilst he had an eye on either side. This meant that he was much
more aware of what was going on all around him. Humans couldn’t
click like dolphins could and so he realised that she was unable to
echo-locate in the water. This wasn’t surprising though; after all
humans didn’t spend much time in the water at all.
    Dancer came up and greeted Lucy too, shyly at first until Lucy
touched her gently with her hand. Then Spirit let Lucy pull herself
up onto his back using his dorsal fin and they swam off through the
low waves together, with Dancer swimming close along side. Spirit
went as fast as he could and they started playing chase with
Dancer, turning swiftly to try and outrun her. Soon Lucy fell off
and rolled in the water, laughing as she did so.
    Then it was Dancer’s turn and she hoisted herself onto the
older dolphin’s back and sped off, this time with Spirit in
pursuit. After they’d played that game for twenty five minutes or
so, Spirit could hear that Lucy was panting with exertion and he
knew that she probably needed a rest. They floated in the water and
she lay right down on his back and sort of hugged him, with her
arms wrapped as far round his body as they could go.
    Eventually they came back close to the shore and Lucy slid off
Spirit’s