Wink

~photo by Lisa Denning

I’m about ¾ mile from shore when I hear my favorite sound.

Eeeee eeee eeeee.

My friends are here.

I look up…nothing.

I dive down…nada.

I keep swimming and the sounds dissipate.  “Oh well, at least I got to hear your sweet voices,” I call to the spinners. “Thank you.”

I keep going, and when I’m about 200 yards from the other side of the bay (a full mile from my starting point) I see two gray bodies surface over by the rocky cliff that provides the third ‘side’ of the bay.

“Maybe there are just a few here today,” I think. “I’ll go see if they want to play.”

I continue in that direction and I see a few more of my sleek finned friends. This time they’re diving deep, like they do when they’re in a deep slumber.

I stop swimming and just hang motionless on the surface of the water.

Here come 10 more, their noses pointing right at me. Then I see 50 more below me. And another 40 coming from my left. They keep pouring in, as if an underwater gate has opened and these wise and gorgeous creatures are streaming in from another dimension to heal us.

As soon as I have that thought, I feel at once that it is both ridiculous and true.

The dolphins have been my greatest spiritual teachers, and I drink up their magic until it spills out of every pore in my body.

The elegant, undulating bodies just keep pouring in from all sides, as I bask on the surface, gasping, giggling, and moaning in ecstasy.

Nearly all of them are asleep, but I do see a few carrying leaves, so I collect a few of my own in case I find a playmate.

I see a few moving quickly, so I dive down and place a bright yellow leaf in their path.

Nope.

They all pass by without showing an inkling of interest.

Wait. One is circling back.

But not to the leaf.

To me.

He comes to my left side, circles me, then hangs in the water in front of me, his body still curved in an arc from the circle maneuver. He’s resting, so his eye facing me is closed.

He opens it, giving me a reverse-wink as he circles in tighter and tighter around me. After a few more circles, he leans into me and offers his cheek, as if asking for a kiss. Then he dives down, picks up the leaf I’ve left him, and continues on his way.