photo by Rusty Orr
The bay was alive with the sleek, gray bodies of my finned friends.
Elders, babies, mamas, papas. A community of 80 dolphins, mostly asleep, gliding in slow, graceful circles.
I floated motionless at the surface and peered into the sea. Ten sweet faces looked up at me. They continued their ascent, surfacing to breathe on all sides of me.
A wave of peace washed over me and I felt my heart expand.
As I awaited the next group of sleeping spinners, I heard a delightful chattering of squeaks and clicks. Three juveniles were chasing each other in and out of the water, penetrating the silence like a splash of red paint on a pale blue canvas.
I giggled, and cooed, and then proceeded to sigh like a lovesick teenager.
A young’un who appeared to be resisting sleep, like all good children do, swam right up to me and looked me in the eye as if to say, “look what I can do!” and then launched himself in the air.
Splash!
He wiggled his tail fin in a victory dance, and bobbed his head in my direction.
Mama was waiting for him about 10 feet down. He swam over to her in excitement, nursed, and then the two of them began to cuddle-swim as they turned towards the rest of the pod.
But before swimming off, they both paused, looked back at me, then circled back, and snuggled up within centimeters of my face.
I wanted to hug them so intensely that I wrapped my arms around myself and squealed.
You describe precisely how I feel when I am with my beloved Spinners, Claire. I’m honor to have met you at our mutual friends’ living room. I want to buy your book:) Please bring 2 copies next time you come to the Bay. One for me and one for display in my house.
Oh Alice, thank you! I am also honored to meet in our beloved spinners’ living room! Your spirit is as dear as theirs, and I look forward to many more meetings. And yes, I will happily bring books for you!