Midnight Dolphin by James Carmody

there too to
help her. The sun warmed her back as she stooped to pick up the
shells and everything felt reassuring and safe.
    ‘ Shark!’
someone cried out. People’s heads turned and looked out towards
where a boy was pointing. Megan looked up too. She knew that there
were no sharks around Cornwall, except for the occasional basking
shark that were perfectly harmless. People started to wade rapidly
out of the sea.
    Megan caught
sight of the fin the boy was pointing at. ‘ That’s not a shark.. ’ she thought to
herself.
    ‘ It’s a
dolphin!’ she cried. A murmur went round the beach. Everyone loved
dolphins. ‘ Could it
be…? ’
    ‘ Jet ’ Megan mumbled to herself.
‘ Jet, it’s me! ’
Megan forgot about Bethany and all the people around her. All that
she could think about was the dolphin out there in the waves, just
a hundred metres from the shore. Megan ran out into the shallows.
Other people who had been wading out of the water rapidly when they
thought there was a shark in the water were turning now that they
realised it was a dolphin.
    Megan tried to
race ahead of them all, splashing through the waves and then diving
into the water when it got deep enough. She was sure that Jet had
come to find her. She struck out with her arms in a desperate front
crawl, but even though she was a good swimmer she just couldn’t
swim quick enough. People were still milling around her and moving
out towards the dolphin as well. It was hard to tell as she swam
but it seemed as though the dolphin was moving away from the
beach.
    Moments later
she looked up again and the fin was gone. Megan stopped and trod
water, looking around her.
    ‘ Oh that’s a
pity, its gone’ said someone behind her.
    ‘ I love
dolphins, they’re so cute’ Megan heard someone else say. ‘Did you
get a photo.’ Megan felt a sob rise in her throat. She swam further
out again, certain that the dolphin would reappear but minutes
passed and there was no sign of it. The dolphin had
disappeared.
    Megan swam
back slowly to the beach. It was much worse than simply being
disappointed. It felt as though her whole world was crumbling
around her. Everything special that she had learned to love and
rely on was no longer there. Megan waded out of the water back onto
the beach feeling fifty years older than she had ten minutes
before.
    ‘ Was that your
friend?’ asked Bethany curiously as Megan emerged from the
sea.
    ‘ I, no. I
don’t know’ mumbled Megan unhappily. She looked away from Bethany,
only to see Dad walking across the beach towards them. He tried to
catch her eye but Megan didn’t want to let him. She looked at her
feet instead. Dad put his hand on her shoulder.
    ‘ It’s okay
Megan’ he said quietly. ‘All things must pass. It’s just that
you’re growing up, that’s all.’ Megan shook her head
violently.
    ‘ You’re so
wrong!’ she exclaimed, tears smarting in her eyes. Megan ran up the
beach away from him, towards the boardwalk that led across the
dunes.
    ‘ Daddy, let’s
follow her’ said Bethany, concerned that her sister was suddenly
upset.
    ‘ No, we’ll
just let her have some time on her own Chipmunk’ Dad replied.
‘She’ll be alright.’
     
    It all took
place so quickly that the other children standing at the edge of
the pool barely realised what had happened. Suddenly Lucy was
slumped face down in the water with blood streaming from the gash
on her head, a cloud of watery redness spreading out around
her.
    ‘ Out of the
way!’ shouted Miss Baldwin as she strode with panicky urgency to
the edge of the pool. The children stepped back. As they did so
Lucy’s body rolled over. Her unseeing eyes seemed to look up out
water up at them as she began to sink down.
    Miss Baldwin
jumped into the red water next to Lucy, not caring that she was
dressed in her shorts and polo shirt. She tugged the unconscious
form of Lucy up to the surface of the water.
    ‘ Help me get
her out!’ she called to the children. Three