Maddy's Dolphin (2 page)

In the evenings they would meet by the small pier and would talk for hours, yes talk; well, not exactly talk, but they could hear each other's voices in their heads. That's how it had been since their first meeting. Indigo had explained that Maddy was one of the few people in the world who could speak with the dolphins. He explained this to her many times before it sunk in and started to make sense.

‘Maddy, what are we doing today?' asked CJ, Maddy's little brother, who was ten. They got on quite well for brother and sister. CJ couldn't talk to Indigo, but had come to realise that Maddy really did. They had both worked out that no one else believed them and they had to keep it quiet. Even though he couldn't talk to Indigo, they had become very good friends and he enjoyed the dolphin's company as much as Maddy.

‘Where's Indigo?' he asked, looking out to sea.

‘He went off to see the Keeper. He should be back any time now,' replied Maddy.

‘Didn't you tell him when we were coming?' he asked.

Maddy said that she had, and then went on to explain that the Keeper lived a long way away and it was a long distance for Indigo to swim.

‘Who is the Keeper, anyway, and why is a dolphin called the Keeper?'

‘CJ, it's a long story, and I told you before, the Keeper is the dolphin who lives in the ruins of the lost world of Atlantis; he is the central point for all the special dolphins like Indigo to go back to and report on events and everything else. One day Indigo might take on the role of the Keeper. It is a very important position.' They both looked out to sea, but there was no sign of Indigo; no spray from his blowhole; no dorsal fin sticking out of the water; no dolphin jumping up out of the water and splashing back down – the way he liked to say good morning.

That afternoon they were on the beach outside their flat with their mum, waiting for their dad to pick them up in
Barefoot
, his little red speedboat. They were going water-skiing. It was the perfect weather for it; there was no wind and the sea in the bay was as flat as a pancake. Jorgos had been skiing already and now it was their turn; Jorgos was determined to make them both into championship skiers and they were already pretty good for their age.

Barefoot
pulled up to the shore and they all hopped in. Jorgos manoeuvred the boat out. ‘Who's first in, then?'

‘Me, me,' shouted CJ, and as soon as the boat stopped he jumped straight in.

‘I guess it's him first, then!' said Ishbel, laughing. Jorgos dropped the ski in, and within a minute CJ was up and skiing.

Maddy moved up to the driver's seat and took over the controls. Jorgos was teaching her to drive; Ishbel wouldn't drive the boat when he was skiing, since she had nearly driven over him years ago. This meant that Jorgos had to find a friend to drive the boat before he could ski, so the sooner he got Maddy driving the sooner he got to ski more. Ishbel said that Maddy would have to be a lot older; Jorgos didn't listen to her on this point though.

‘Is it my turn now?' Maddy was getting impatient. It was hot and she wanted to get in the water. The sea was perfect. CJ jumped and, on landing, overbalanced and fell. The boat slowed and turned and went back to CJ, who, after a bit of persuasion, finally got out and allowed Maddy her turn.

She put the ski on and took hold of the rope, getting herself into position, with her knees bent up to her chest, arms out straight in front of her. She shouted that she was ready. The boat started moving off; the rope pulled her up out of the water and she straightened herself up. It felt great; the dip in the sea had cooled her down and the spray felt wonderful as the sun beat down on her. She swung to the left, then the right, then put in a jump. When she skied she just forgot everything else and enjoyed herself. Her dad was always shouting back at her to try this, do that, jump now, but she just did what she wanted to do. She knew that if she went into competitions she would have to start doing what he told her to do and get a routine together, but at the moment she just liked doing what she felt like, and that is what she did.

Whoosh
, the dolphin jumped up alongside her, past her right ear, and down into the water just in front of her. Indigo was back. They skied together for the next ten minutes before Maddy let go of the rope and, slowing, sank down into the water, coming to a halt. Indigo swam up, and no sooner than she had given him a great big hug, they were interrupted by CJ jumping in next to them, followed by Ishbel. They all had a swim with the dolphin, chasing each other around, splashing each other and having great fun together.

Indigo was back, Maddy had the whole summer in front of her and she was so happy.

‘I'm going to see Indigo, Mum,' she shouted as she ran to the door.

‘Maddy, no; not yet; you've only just left him and we need to eat.'

Oh great, she hadn't been quick enough; sometimes, if Ishbel was reading, she could slip away without her mum knowing. When her mum read a book or magazine she would go off into another world and Maddy and CJ could practically get away with anything. Oh well, she had been caught this time, but she was a bit hungry anyway.

CJ put his trainers on and they headed off to the Kalanisa Taverna. That's where they ate most of the time when in Loutraki. The kitchen in the flat – sorry, the
best
flat in Loutraki – was practically non-existent and they had an agreement with Vangelis, the owner of the taverna. Vangelis rented the building for the taverna from Jorgos. For a reduced rent, he allowed Jorgos' family to always eat for free.

‘Hello, my little ones, you're back from the hot city then?' Vangelis had known the children all their lives and was always pleased to see them. He liked to practise his English on them – and boy did he need the practice! They would have great fun laughing at his problems with the pronunciation of words. They ordered their favourite dish – moussaka, followed by freshly sliced apple with a sprinkling of cinnamon.

By then they had wasted enough time and couldn't wait to get going to meet up with Indigo. Finally Ishbel said they could go, and they were off, running along the waterfront.

They ran past all the busy restaurants which looked on to the sea, around to the small jetty by the park. It was past the hustle and bustle of the busiest part of the town, and having gone down the stone steps to the water level, they were out of view. They didn't have long to wait; Indigo was as anxious to see them as they were to see him. As Maddy sat down, hanging her legs into the sea, they heard a soft puff. It was Indigo releasing some air from his blowhole. It was a sound that Maddy thought was one of the best sounds there could be.

Maddy and Indigo talked all at once, saying they had missed each other and asking what they had been doing:

‘Did you see the Keeper?

‘How was school?

‘Did you meet any other dolphins?'

‘Has CJ been good?

‘What was Atlantis like?

‘How did your teacher like the story?'

They were both talking so fast, neither got a chance to answer, or even hear what the other was saying. And on top of all of that CJ kept interrupting. ‘What, what's happened, did Indigo see a whale?' Suddenly, they all stopped and laughed.

Indigo had been away for about a month and had swum a lot of miles. Atlantis had been a thriving city many many years ago, in the times when men and dolphins had lived together, helping each other with fishing and with many other things. Back then, all dolphins could talk to all humans on Atlantis, not by actually talking, but in the same way Indigo was communicating with Maddy now; they could hear each other's thoughts. But a disaster had happened and the whole island of Atlantis had fallen into the sea.

Indigo was tired, and although he was overjoyed to see Maddy and CJ, he wasn't himself; it was as if there were a big black cloud hanging over him. He told Maddy of his long swim, of meeting a pod of dolphins and an old sperm whale who had left his migration to the polar ice quite late. He told them that Atlantis still looked as beautiful as ever. He then came on to his meeting with the Keeper.

Maddy had been relaying the story to CJ as they went. As Indigo got to the Keeper, CJ piped in, ‘Who is the Keeper again, and why does he stay there on his own?' Indigo said that he would go over it all again with CJ another time, but that he was too tired now.

‘It is a bad time for whales and dolphins at the moment; there is this sound in the seas and oceans, which comes and goes, but few of us who hear it live to tell the story. The Keeper is at a loss as to what we can do, but we must find the answer. It is thought that it has something to do with the submarines that travel through the seas,' Indigo explained. He was clearly worried and Maddy was too. They both knew that lots of things that humans do can affect the whales and dolphins, like fishing and pollution, but this was a new a problem which apparently was happening more and more frequently.

They discussed the problem a bit more, until CJ piped in, ‘We should ask Imogen, she knows all about dolphins.'

Since they were born, their Aunty Imogen had told them all about dolphins and seemed to know most things about them. Yes, they must phone and ask her. They had a plan, something to do, and that made them all feel a bit better. They started chatting about the waterskiing that afternoon, laughing about the falls they had had and laughing and joking away together, until they heard their dad shouting for them and revving his little putt-putt of a step-through scooter.

‘Got to go, Indigo, see you in the morning,' they both shouted as they jumped up, running up the stairs and trying to race their dad back to the flat.

Indigo stayed where he was, close into the edge, taking in the distant chatter and sounds of the people enjoying Loutraki. He was glad to be back. He had lived in the bay for over twelve years now. It was a solitary life, but he was one of the Chosen Ones. He was a descendant of the Atlantis dolphins. This was the life he had been destined for and he loved Maddy and her brother. He was happy, but worried about his kind, and all the perils of the seas. With a loud puff of breath he dove down and powered off through the sea to find some food.

The sun reached across Maddy's face and as it hit her eyes she opened them wide, suddenly wide awake. Instead of jumping out of bed immediately, she stretched herself out and gave a great big sigh. No school for weeks; it was a great feeling. She was going to spend the hot summer days waterskiing, swimming, playing with Indigo and just having fun. But no, suddenly she remembered, the dolphins were in trouble. There was a noise out there in the water and Indigo was worried, so it must be bad.

Up she jumped, throwing on her swimsuit and tugging at CJ's sheet. ‘Come on, quick. We've got to get out before they wake up.' CJ jumped up, already wearing his swimming trunks. ‘What are you wearing those for?' demanded Maddy.

‘For a quick getaway,' replied CJ with a huge grin on his face.

Shaking her head at him, Maddy just said, ‘Come on, you idiot.' They sneaked out of the door, closing it so as not to wake their parents, and ran off to the lift, giggling.

As they ran out of the block, across the road and onto the pebbled beach, they saw Indigo jump up into the sky, coming down with a great splash, then swim at great speed towards the beach. Both children ran into the sea and, on getting to waist depth, dived in under the water, swimming out to join Indigo. They were both great swimmers. They had such confidence and could swim on and under the water like fish, said their grandfather. Their reply to that was always, ‘Not like the fish, like a dolphin.' And, thinking about it, that was much more accurate; fish move their tails from side to side to propel themselves along, whereas dolphins use their tails, or rather their flukes, in an up and down motion. When they had explained this to their grandfather a couple of years ago, he had to agree with them and, ever since, when he saw them swimming, he had said that they swam like dolphins. He was very proud of them and would say it to anyone who stopped and watched them as they played in the sea.

They had a fantastic swim this particular morning, diving down, pushing off, chasing each other and playing tag. But all good things come to an end, and it was all too soon that they heard their mum shouting at them from the beach and they had to go off home for breakfast.

After a quick shower they were both dressed in no time and were sitting down at the table on the large balcony with the spectacular view. They could see the whole of the bay, with the mouth of the Corinth canal over to the left and the hills spreading out to the right and, on top of that, every now and again Indigo could be seen swimming and jumping around in the harbour.

There was no time for looking out at the views now, though. They were hungry, and on the table was some of their favourite food. They had recently received a food parcel from their grandmother in England. Nana would send them chocolate buttons and Marmite every now and again in the post – things that you just couldn't buy in Greece anywhere – and they loved chocolate buttons and Marmite, although not together, of course. There was Weetabix first, then lots of toast and Marmite which went down so quickly that Ishbel didn't have time to eat any herself until they were finished. As Maddy was about to pick up her last piece, Jorgos walked in and picked it up, taking a bite before he walked off, saying they should be ready on the beach at 2 p.m. for waterskiing.

Now it was time to phone Imogen. Jorgos was out and their mum was on the hammock on the balcony reading a magazine. When Ishbel was reading a magazine she noticed absolutely nothing. They knew that they could phone Australia for an hour and she wouldn't notice. It was quite good when they wanted to do anything that they knew their parents wouldn't agree to. They only had to wait for her to get engrossed in a book or magazine and then they could do whatever it was they wanted to, right under her nose if they felt like it. She just wouldn't notice. It was a big joke within the English side of the family.