Sophie's Friend in Need

by Norma Charles

Ginette climbed onto the log and straddled it, one leg on each side, as if it were a horse. Sophie hiked up her sodden nightgown and jumped onto the log behind Ginette. “Let’s go!” she shouted.

  They pushed the log into deeper water. It jolted as a wave hit it, but Sophie held on tight. It was like riding a bucking bronco. “Balance it! Balance!” Sophie cried.

  “I can’t!” Ginette squeaked.

  The log rolled, and they both fell off, sputtering salt water.

  “Grab it, grab it!” Sophie yelled as a big wave threatened to carry the log away.

  They both lunged and caught it. Sophie wrapped her arm around the log, feeling defeated. What could they do? They were much too far from land to swim, even with life preservers on, especially with the sea so rough. Could Ginette even swim?

  “We hold on to log and kick hard. Like canoe,” Ginette said, her voice quavering.

  “You’re right,” Sophie agreed, swallowing her fear. “We could push the log through the water! Thank goodness we’ve got these life preservers.”

  At first they tried pushing the log, both on the same side and kicking hard, but they didn’t seem to get anywhere and they kept kicking each other.

  “Hold on,” Sophie said. “I’ll move to the other side.” She went around the back of the log. “Okay, let’s try it again.” She clasped the log with one hand, paddled through the water with the other, and kicked her feet as hard as she could.

  Ginette did the same. Sophie soon felt warmer from the kicking. Or maybe she was just numb from the cold water. At least she wasn’t shivering as much.

  This was a lot harder than any Star Girl rescue Sophie had ever read about in her Star Girl comics. Panting, she kicked and paddled, fighting to keep her panic at bay.

  On the other side of the log Ginette kicked and paddled, too, until she groaned. “Tired,” she began muttering. “Too tired.”

  “Me, too,” Sophie gasped. “Let’s stop. Rest. Closer. We must be closer.”

  The wind was still howling and the waves were still crashing around them, but they held on to the log and managed to ride out most of the waves.

  “That rock. Over there,” Sophie panted, pointing at a rock whose top was barely visible above the waves. “Let’s try. Get to that rock.”

  Ginette nodded and started kicking again.

  Sophie kicked as hard as she could, but it seemed as if they would never get there. Her legs felt so heavy that it took all her effort to keep them moving. “Come on, Star Girl,” she murmured to herself, forcing her legs through the water. “Come on, Star Girl!”

  “Star Girl?” Ginette asked. “Who Star Girl?”

  “I’ll tell you,” Sophie gasped, “when we get there. To that rock.”

  They kicked and paddled some more and finally they made it. Sophie inhaled deeply as the log bumped against the rock. The rock was too small to hold them both, but they could stand in the shallow water at its base and rest. Suddenly a big wave splashed over the rock and snatched away the log. Ginette leaped out and grabbed it, clinging to it with both hands.

  “Good going, Ginette!” Sophie firmly held on to the other side of the log and took some deep breaths. A few minutes later she asked, “Think we can make it to shore now?”

  Ginette shook her head. “Too far. Too tired.”

  “Star Girl wouldn’t let a bit of water get her down,” Sophie said.

  “I don’t know Star Girl. You say you tell me.”

  “Look, when we get to shore, I’ll tell you everything I know about Star Girl. And that’s plenty.”

  Ginette sighed heavily, and they pushed off the rock. Hugging the log, they kicked and paddled through the waves, the log bouncing between them. It felt as if hours passed, and Sophie’s lungs burned. She kept kicking and kicking hard, though her legs ached to the bone and were as heavy as cement. They stopped more and more often for longer rests. Thankfully the wind was at their backs and gave them a much-needed push.

  “We can make it, Ginette! We can make it! Just a little farther.”

  “Can’t, Sophie. Can’t. Too tired,” Ginette spluttered, shaking her head. Her arm slipped from the log.

  “Ginette!” Sophie shouted, struggling to the other side of the log and catching Ginette before she floated away. She pulled the girl near the log and lifted her arm. “Here. Put your hand here. Hang on. I’ll do the kicking. Just hang on!”

  Ginette’s eyes closed and her head fell forward.

  “You have to!” Sophie screamed in her ear and squeezed her arm. “You just have to! Think about your little sister! Think about Selina! Come on. Don’t give up now! Please, Ginette. Let’s count.” Sophie counted in time with her stroking through the water. “One, two, three. Count, Ginette!”

  Ginette halfheartedly counted, too, her lips barely moving. Slowly she began kicking again. When they got to one hundred, Sophie looked up. The island didn’t look any closer.

  “Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques,” Sophie panted as she kicked.

  Ginette joined her, mumbling at first in a tired, whispery voice, then louder and louder. Unexpectedly Ginette started singing “Au Claire de la Lune” and kicked in time with that.

  Relief flooded Sophie as she realized Ginette was really trying. They sang the song more than twenty times, over and over again. “Papa’s favourite song,” Sophie gasped. “Always sings it. Big loud voice.”

  “My papa sing, too,” Ginette murmured. “He throw me up in air, all the time up in air.” Her voice sounded so wistful and far away that Sophie was afraid she was falling asleep.

  “Let’s sing it again, Ginette. Come on! Really loud. For our papas. Au claire de la lune, mon ami... Oh, look!” she cried. “We’re almost there! We’re almost at the island!”

  When Sophie glanced up this time, the dark bulk of the island filled her eyes, cutting out the luminous sky. She kicked at the water with renewed vigour. She felt Ginette kicking harder, too. Were they really going to make it?

  Eventually the waves and wind drove their log against the shore. Sophie let go and crawled up onto the rocks. They were slippery with rain and seaweed and sharp with barnacles, but they felt so good and solid under her elbows and fingers and knees that she felt like kissing them.

  “We’re here, Ginette. We made it! We’re safe!”

  Ginette was a few feet away, clinging to the rocks, half lying in the water.

  “Come on. Climb up onto these rocks. You can do it,” Sophie encouraged. “Get right out of the water.”

  Ginette nodded but didn’t move. She seemed to have given up. Her eyes fluttered closed.

  Sophie scrambled over the rocks and back into the water. Grunting, she pushed Ginette higher onto the rocks, above the rising tide. Then Sophie crawled up beside the girl, and with the last of her strength, she dragged them both up the steep bank a little higher so they would be out of reach of the waves and spray.

  She felt as if a huge weight were pressing down on her shoulders and back. Even blinking was too much effort. Her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep, sprawled out on the rocky cliff.

  ELEVEN

  Sophie descended into sleep like a fish drifting down into a dark sea. Like the fish, she swirled around in the water of sleep, sailing up to the surface occasionally, aware of distant waves crashing before she floated back down into the dark water.

  She woke suddenly. Was it minutes or hours later? She blinked and heard loud waves smashing against the cliff below her feet. Her head felt so heavy that she could barely lift it. Her neck was sore and her back ached. Above her, trees and bushes swayed in the wind. She turned her head. Close by, Ginette was curled into a ball, her eyes closed and her fingers entwined in string, clasping the dreidel tightly.

  Shivering hard, Sophie sat up and crossed her arms over her knees, hugging herself tightly and rocking back and forth, trying to warm up. With the immediate threat of the ocean gone, she shuddered at the thought of the trek back to camp. She looked around, tugging her jacket closer to her neck and pul
ling the hem of her nightgown over her feet. The nightgown was soaked, but it sheltered her bare legs from the wind-driven rain. The sky seemed to be getting lighter, and the waves became silvery-coloured as they crashed and sprayed against the rocks.

  Ginette’s eyelids fluttered, and she opened her eyes. When she saw Sophie staring at her, she gasped and cringed.

  “It’s okay, Ginette.” Sophie reached over and patted the girl’s arm. “It’s only me. Sophie. We’re safe. We’re going to be okay. We’re both going to be just fine.”

  Ginette blinked, then took a deep, ragged breath and let it out slowly as she nodded. “I forget. For minute, I forget.”

  “I don’t know how long we’ve been here,” Sophie said. “But I think it’s getting a little lighter out. I wonder what time it is.”

  Ginette glanced around at the narrow band of rocks between the sea and the trees behind them. In some places thick bushes grew down almost to the waterline.

  “I think the wind’s died down,” Sophie said hopefully. She tried to give Ginette an encouraging smile.

  Ginette was shivering, too. She pulled her coat tighter around her back. “Where is camp?”

  “I think it must be that way,” Sophie said, pointing to their left. “It can’t be that far. Maybe it’s just around that next point.”

  Ginette looked to their right. A steep and impenetrable rocky cliff loomed high above them.

  Although it was still dark, Sophie could tell where the land was and where the water and the sky were. The land was a different sort of darkness—heavier, denser—than either the water or the sky. She opened her eyes as wide as she could and longed to open them even wider, so she could see better.

  Ginette wiggled her bare toes.

  “Where are your shoes?” Sophie asked.

  “They come off in water.”

  Sophie sighed. “It’s going to be really hard to walk barefoot on these rocks. They’re so rough with all the barnacles.”

  Ginette hunched and held her feet in her hands as if to warm them.

  “We should start moving,” Sophie said. “If we could get back to camp and sneak into our bunks before anyone wakes up and finds us gone, that would be the best thing. Besides, if we don’t move soon, we’ll probably freeze to death in these wet clothes. I bet it’s not that far back to camp.”

  Ginette shook her head. “Not going to camp,” she said, her bottom lip quivering.

  “What? Why not?”

  Ginette shook her head again.

  “That’s crazy!” Sophie said. “You can’t stay out here. There’ll be nothing but a frozen icicle left of you in the morning.”

  Ginette folded her arms and stared straight ahead, blinking back tears.

  “Come on, Ginette. I’ll help you.”

  Ginette continued shaking her head.

  “Fine,” Sophie said. “I don’t care. I’m heading back to camp. I can’t wait to have a long, hot shower and get into some warm, dry clothes. Now that would be so lovely. We’ll be so warm back in our beds. And for breakfast, I bet they’ll be having something really delicious. Lovely hot cocoa, maybe even pancakes, or something yummy like that.” She tried to make it sound as enticing as she could.

  Ginette didn’t move. Her chin was on her knees, and she continued to gaze at the dark water.

  Finally Sophie sighed and said, “Well, see you later then.” She edged her way slowly along the rocky cliff, then turned to look at Ginette. The girl was still sitting there, hugging her bare legs, lost and unhappy.

  Sophie felt so sorry for her. She hesitated. Should she go back and try to convince her to come along? She breathed deeply. She had tried as hard as she could. It was no use. She turned away and kept going. Her wet nightgown flapped against her knees. She tried wringing out the hem, but it didn’t help much. Her life preserver was stiff and uncomfortable, but she didn’t dare take it off. It was the only thing keeping her neck and shoulders warm.

  She studied the bank of bushes and trees above the cliffs. Would it be easier to go through the bush or along the cliff closer to the water’s edge? She climbed up the cliff’s steep face on her hands and knees to get a closer look. The bush at the top of the cliff was as dense as a solid wall and prickly with thorns. She couldn’t see a way through it at all. It would be easier to find a route along the rocky cliff, she decided.

  “Sophie! Wait!” Ginette called up to her.

  Sophie smiled with relief and turned back. “We can’t make it through this bush. It’s way too thick,” she said as Ginette worked her way up the cliff barefoot.

  Sophie could almost feel the pain of the sharp rocks and barnacles cutting into Ginette’s feet. She wanted to tell the girl how glad she was for the change of mind, but she couldn’t think of how to say it. Instead, she reached down and helped her up to the top of the cliff, grinning at her. A faint smile crossed Ginette’s face.

  They continued along the cliff together, gradually finding their way over the rocks, some of them as big as cars, some even as large as houses. Ginette stepped carefully in her bare feet, but she didn’t complain. They rounded another corner.

  Ginette stopped suddenly in front of Sophie. “Now where we go?”

  Sophie surveyed the steep face of the cliff in front of them. It was daunting. There was nothing to grip. The cliff plunged straight into the water. It was far too steep to climb across.

  “We’ll have to go up to the top of the cliff and climb over it that way somehow,” Sophie said resolutely.

  She led the way to the top of the cliff, clutching at roots and branches to help her climb. Thick bush grew right to the edge of the cliff, even overhanging it in some places, making the climb very tricky. She tried to push through the bush, but sharp thorns clawed at her face, arms, and legs. It was impassable.

  “We can’t get through here,” she told Ginette. “The bush is way too thick.”

  Ginette didn’t say anything.

  Discouragement swept over Sophie as she contemplated the waves crashing against the rocks at the bottom of the steep cliff. “Looks like we’ll have to get a little wet again. We’ll have to swim across to the other side of the cliff.”

  “Go back into water? No,” Ginette said, shaking her head. “I not go back into water. Too, too cold.” She shivered.

  “There’s no other way. It’s not that far across the bottom of the cliff. We swam a lot farther before. Look, once we get around that rock we can hold on to the edge of the cliff near the water and climb up there. It’s not so far. Really,” Sophie cajoled. Why did Ginette have to be so darn stubborn?

  Ginette was still shaking her head and staring at the waves.

  “Come on, Ginette,” Sophie insisted, climbing down the steep cliff. “This is the only way and we are going.”

  Ginette didn’t make any move to come down from the top of the cliff. She sat on the edge of a big rock, clasping her knees and frowning.

  Finally Sophie said, “Fine, then. I’m going. You can stay up there all night and freeze for all I care.” Star Girl had never had such a hard rescue. All the people she ever rescued wanted to be rescued. They were grateful to be rescued.

  Sophie picked her way to the bottom of the cliff and around another big rock at the water’s edge. She eased herself feet first into the water, gasping as it splashed up around her waist. It felt much colder than earlier. But she gritted her teeth, pushed herself off the rock, and paddled toward the cliff. The cold water ballooned her nightgown and pushed her life preserver snugly against her chin and cheeks. She trembled as the icy water seeped inside her jacket, up her back, and under her arms. She resolved to keep going, kicking and splashing hard, staying close to the edge.

  At last she reached the overhanging cliff and glanced back at Ginette, who had crept down the cliff and was about to follow her into the water. A big wave crashed at the bottom of the cliff between them, and Ginette shrieked.

  “Hold on to that root. It’s tough,” Sophie said, pushing herself back through the wave
s to help Ginette.

  Ginette squealed again as Sophie gripped her hand and led her into the water.

  “It’s not that far across, Ginette. Come on. Hold on. I’ll help you. There. You can do it. I know you can do it.”

  Ginette’s pale eyes glittered with fear, but her mouth was determined as she pushed herself through the water, hand over hand, kicking her bare feet.

  “Here’s another place you can grab,” Sophie told her. “And another one here.”

  Gradually they made their way in the water across the bottom of the steep cliff face.

  “Hang on, Ginette!” Sophie cried. “Here comes another big wave.” As the wave hit their backs and swept over their heads, she grasped a thick root with one hand and the back of Ginette’s life preserver with the other. Ginette screamed and closed her eyes tight. Sophie shut her eyes, too. Then, in a panic, she felt the current tugging at them, pulling them back into the sea.

  “Hold on tight, Ginette! Hold on! Don’t let go!” Sophie’s fingers clawed at the rocks as she fought with all her strength against the undertow.

  The next wave was smaller, but the undertow yanked at them, trying to wrench them away from the cliff and back into the sea. They gripped the rocks and roots harder.

  “Okay. The sea’s a bit calmer. Let’s move fast before another wave comes!” Sophie pushed through the water again, hand over hand, kicking her feet for momentum. Ginette followed her, and slowly they made their way across the bottom of the rock face to a shallow shelf.

  “Good,” Sophie grunted. “Let’s climb out here and get onto the cliff. See, it’s not so steep now.”

  But before they were able to pull themselves out of the water onto the shallow shelf, another wave engulfed them.

  Quick!” Sophie yelled. “Grab that root before the undertow pulls us back in! The root!” With all her strength she pushed Ginette up onto the rocks.

  Water streaming from her clothes, Ginette grabbed the root and scrambled up onto the shelf. She reached down and caught Sophie’s hand. Sophie held on and dug into the cliff with her fingernails, trying to crawl up after Ginette on her hands and knees. But another big wave caught her. As it crashed over her back, she sucked in her breath and hung on for dear life, waiting for it to recede.