Lucy tried to get her fingers under the wire and find a way of loosening off the loop of steel, but it was much harder than she had imagined when she lay on Bethany’s fold-down bed the night before. She was having to kick hard just to keep herself afloat and the surge of the water around her made it difficult to stay in the same spot. She let go for a moment to rest and breath and Dancer came close so that she could hold onto her if she wanted.
After a brief respite Lucy resumed her task, feeling with her fingers again and again to find where the steel cord was caught and to discover a way of prising it free. Spirit stayed as still as he could to enable her to do so and lifted up his tail as close as possible to the surface of the water to help Lucy to work and breath. Dancer and Storm looked on with concern in the eyes, willing Lucy on to succeed.
Eventually, after what seemed a long time, Lucy realised that the knot was so tight that it could not be dislodged with the strength of her fingers alone. She was getting tired and knew that she couldn’t keep it up for much longer. She gestured to Dancer that she wanted to follow the steel cord up the line to where it was attached to the buoy.
It was easy enough to pull herself along the cable, up towards the rock. Dancer followed protectively at her side just in case she needed the dolphin’s help. The wire soon came up out of the water towards to the rock face. She could make out the red and white buoy lodged in the rocks at the foot of the cliff above them. She tugged hard on the wire, hoping that at least the buoy would just come free. It wouldn’t budge though. She would have to climb up out of the water to the buoy and try to move the rocks that kept it in place. It was harder than it looked though. The rock was covered in slippery weed and every time she tried to gain purchase with her feet, they slipped out from under her and she fell back into the water.
Lucy had arms made strong from all the swimming practice she had done, but even so, they were not strong enough to pull herself out the water. The buoy and the steel cord were firmly wedged in the rocks and there seemed no way that she could get up close enough to it to do anything to free it.
A sense of terrible desolation seized Lucy and, despite herself, her body started to shake with sobs. She was so desperate to save Spirit and the idea had seemed so easy when she had planned it all in her mind the night before. Now that she was here, she realised how difficult and dangerous it was to put her plan into practice. She didn’t have a single tool with her to use, not even a pen-knife, not even a pair of nail clippers. Her nimble fingers were not enough to set Spirit free and what was more, her hands and feet were becoming numb with cold. The colder they got, the less she could do with them. She had failed, she thought, and Spirit would die. Then her life would not be worth living. She may as well die here with him she thought.
She swam back to Spirit and clung onto his back, crying bitter tears into his smooth flank. Although she could not communicate with Spirit, she could feel the electric tingle through his skin. It was much less than before though. It was almost as though Spirit had been filled with energy and hope when she had arrived. Now he realised that she could not set him free, the hope and the energy were ebbing out of him. It was as though she could feel his very life force leaving him. ‘I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry’ she sobbed into his flank.
‘Lucy! Lucy!’ From the empty waves, Lucy heard her name being called. She glanced up, confused and disorientated. There, not twenty meters away, amazingly, she could see a small, dirty, grey-white trawler bobbing on the waves. More amazing yet, there was Bethany standing at the helm calling out to her, the wind blowing through her wild curly hair. Behind her she could make out Mrs Merryweather clutching tenaciously to the side of the small cabin. What on earth were they doing here?
As she looked, a dinghy emerged from behind the small trawler, a man rowing hard, pulling towards her. When he got close enough, Nate turned and called to her.
‘Ahoy there Lucy. You hang on girl. I’ll have you back on deck with your Aunt in just a jiffy!’ Lucy, Spirit, Dancer and Storm all looked towards Nate and his dinghy. It took Lucy a moment to realise what he was suggesting. But she couldn’t just leave Spirit here to die. Not now.
‘No, I’ve got to save Spirit!’ she called back desperately, gesturing with her hands. ‘He’s caught. I’ve got to set him free!’ Nate had pulled up close now and shipped his oars to get closer still. Spirit seemed nervous, but Lucy could feel the tingling energy from Spirit’s skin increase again. The rubber dinghy bumped up against Spirit’s back and Nate bent over to touch the dolphin gently.
‘There there my beauty’ Nate murmured to Spirit quietly. ‘What’s the matter with you then?’ Lucy watched his rough hands glide lightly down Spirit’s flank. Nate was so close that he could pull Lucy into the dinghy easily if he wanted, but for some reason, he didn’t.
‘There’s a sort of wire thing caught round his tail cutting into his skin’ she told him. I tried to pull it free, but I just couldn’t manage it’ Nate continued to lean from the dinghy, his hand under the water, tracing the wire gently where it cut into Spirit’s raw skin.
‘I see what you mean Lucy’ he said quietly. ‘That’s a nasty one.’ He turned back towards the Lady Thelma.
‘Bob! Bob!!’ he called. Bob put his head out of the small cabin.
‘What’s up skipper?’ Bob called back.
‘Dig out those wire cutters will you?’ Nate yelled hoarsely. He turned back to Lucy.
‘Thing about my boat’ he told her ‘She’s breaking down all the time. Got to carry around a heap of tools just to keep the poor thing going.’ He cast Lucy a thoughtful glance. ‘I’m going to have to pop back to my boat to get the wire cutters. Your Aunt wants me to get you back on board double quick pronto. But I reckon you’re safe with your friends for a little bit, aren’t you?’ Lucy nodded and smiled.
‘Thanks yes’ she said gratefully. She couldn’t bear the idea of leaving Spirit until he was free again. Nate paddled back to the Lady Thelma and Lucy, resting on Spirit’s back, stroked his flank happily.
‘You’re going to be free. It’s going to be ok!’ She could hear the three dolphins clicking and whistling between them, but more than that, she could feel through her finger tips that Spirit’s energy was returning to him. After a few minutes, Nate had paddled to the Lady Thelma and came back with the wire cutters. He shipped his oars again and picked up the cutters.
‘Lucy. I’m going to be careful, but I might nip your dolphin a little bit. I need you to reassure the old thing’ he said. Lucy pressed her palms to Spirit’s flank in a way that she hoped was reassuring and whispered anything that came into her head to calm him. Nate plunged his arms into the water and traced down. Suddenly Spirit jerked in pain and Lucy felt the same sharp sensation herself in sympathy. Then, miraculously, Spirit swam forward. He was free!
Spirit carried Lucy carefully, gently, back to the Lady Thelma. Dancer and Storm followed alongside. There was a steel ladder welded to the side of the vessel and Bethany climbed down in order to be able to pull Lucy up to safety. Lucy didn’t know what to feel. She wanted to stay with Spirit forever, but she knew that she couldn’t. She hugged Spirit with all her might before she reached up and took Bethany’s hand.
‘Goodbye Spirit’ she whispered. Then she stretched out her hand and Bethany pulled her up until she was standing on the bottom rung. Spirit was looking up at her from the water, his big deep eyes full of unexpressed emotion. Their eyes locked for a long, long moment. Then the Lady Thelma rocked in the swell and Bethany tugged at her to come up the ladder onto the deck. Spirit turned away. Nate had rowed back to the trawler and he too clambered back on board.
On deck, Lucy seized the rail and looked back longingly towards the three dolphins. Whatever Bethany and Thelma were saying to her, she had no idea. All she could think of was Spirit, Dancer and the deep feeling of completeness she had felt when the surge of tingling electricity had crept up through Spirit’s skin and into her own body.
Bob pulled out the throttle and the
Lady Thelma chugged forward. He turned the boat around and set her on course back to port. Lucy was overwhelmed with the bitter-sweet feeling of happiness and loss. As the Lady Thelma chugged along, the three dolphins appeared at the bow and swum alongside for a few minutes before peeling away. Lucy thought they had gone, but then suddenly all three dolphins; Spirit, Dancer and Storm took an enormous leap from the water, all at the same time. It was as if they were saluting her. As if they were saying goodbye. Lucy waved, tears in her eyes. Then they were gone.
Chapter Nineteen. Epilogue:
As the Lady Thelma chugged into the small harbour of Merwater, Lucy could see a figure standing on the harbour wall. It was Dad. Lucy was filled with dread and shivered inside the big sweater and coat that Bob had pulled over her wet-suit. She could only imagine what Dad would say to her, but whatever it was, it was sure to be truly, excruciatingly horrible. She shrank back inside her skin. Bethany was standing next to her with her arms around Lucy’s shoulders and she could feel her Aunt tense up as well at the thought of Dad confronting them. There was nothing for it but to face up to whatever he might say. Bob eased off the throttle and they slowed down. As they got closer, she could see Dad’s face clouded and dark with emotion.
As soon as the Lady Thelma touched the harbour wall, Bob leapt out with the heavy mooring rope to tie up and Dad jumped on board. But instead of letting rip at her, Dad took her in his arms and hugged her tight to his body, so tight that she could hardly breathe. She could feel the wool of his pullover pressing into her face and the vague smell of mothballs from his coat. Then a hot wet drop splashed down onto her cheek. To her surprise she realised that Dad was crying.
‘Oh Lucy, Lucy, Lucy’ he mumbled into her hair. ‘I thought I’d lost you. I really thought I’d lost you.’ He rocked her slowly from side to side as he hugged her close.
Eventually, Lucy and Bethany were able to tell Dad the gist of what had happened. He was just so ridiculously happy to see his daughter alive that he forgot to be angry, though Lucy had a nasty feeling that he would remember about the anger thing a bit later. The small party climbed off the Lady Thelma onto dry land and started to walk slowly along the harbour wall towards the car park.
As they walked, Thelma touched Dad lightly on the arm and inclined her head to show that she wanted him to drop back so that she could have a word. Lucy walked on with Bethany and Nate and Bob went on ahead carrying a couple of broken lobster pots each.
‘I know what you’re thinking John Parr’ she said. ‘You’re thinking you want to protect your Lucy from all this Dolphin-Child nonsense. You’re thinking that it’s already brought her to the edge of death and you want to get her as far away as you can, as soon as you can.’ Dad nodded.
‘John Parr’ she continued. ‘If you deny Lucy her true self now, she will never be complete. There will always be a ghost of what might have been. She will be restless and unhappy for all her days. But a Dolphin-Child doesn’t stay a child for long. I know. I’ve met one or two before. She’s twelve now isn’t she, going on thirteen? Within a year or so her gift will leave her, like a swift on the wind and she’ll be just a regular girl again into pop music and whatnot. You mark my words John Parr. Just one year.’
They turned and followed the others in their slow walk towards the car park, talking quietly.
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The Dolphin Child Trilogy:
‘The Girl Who Dreamt Of Dolphins’ is the first book in the Dolphin Child trilogy about Lucy Parr and Spirit. ‘Dolphin Child’ is the second. A few later Lucy is surprised but grateful that her father allows her to stay with her aunt Bethany down in Cornwall during the summer holidays. She is able to spend real time with Spirit who, like her, is learning to overcome the loss of his own mother.
Observed one morning by a strange boy while Lucy swims with dolphins, she spots him later the same day being bullied by a group of local kids. When Paul tells Lucy he knows about a dolphin trapped in a secret lagoon, she doesn’t know whether to believe him, but her recurring dream of lonely dolphin trapped in murky waters troubles her.
When Lucy discovers the disturbing story of an eighteen-century Dolphin Child called Susan Penhaligon, Lucy begins to understand why Paul’s mother is so unfriendly to her. At the same time Spirit’s discovery of a pod with human names makes him wonder what really happened to the children that Susan Penhaligon led out to sea that day.
Lucy and Paul become joined in their quest to discover the truth about the lone dolphin. Will Paul’s desire to escape the local bullies and to become a dolphin child too lead to a tragic repetition of Susan Penhaligon’s fate? What is the link between the trapped dolphin and Spirit?
The Girl Who Dreamt of Dolphins Page 23