Breaking into a jog Antonia followed the coastal path until it forked. Then turning right she scrambled down the tiny lane that led to Gull Bay, a secluded cove away from the main beach. The cove was empty. Antonia dumped her bag by a rock, pulled off her shoes and socks and ran across the powder-white sand to the sea.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, squinting into the afternoon sun. “Dolphins.”
Four common dolphins, two large and two small, were swimming at the mouth of the cove. Excitedly Antonia waded into the water. She’d never seen them so close to the beach before. The largest dolphin had a distinctive yellow blaze that stretched from his face all the way to his dorsal fin. Awestruck, Antonia stared until a soft clicking noise caught her attention. It sounded like a dolphin, but it was too close to be coming from the dolphins in the sea. Something was tickling Antonia’s neck. Her hand moved to her dolphin charm, soft and slippery against her skin. It was vibrating.
“What’s happening?” whispered Antonia.
With a shaking hand she covered the dolphin necklace and the clicking noises softened. Thinking she was imagining things Antonia uncovered the charm then quickly covered it again. The clicking grew loud then quiet like a radio being turned up and down. It can’t be! Suddenly Antonia felt as if the dolphins were calling to her. They were telling her to swim out to them. But she wasn’t allowed in the water alone. Mum and Dad had drummed that into her as soon as she was able to walk. The urge to swim to the dolphins was overwhelming. Antonia hitched her yellow checked school dress around her waist and splashed further into the sea. This is wrong, said her brain. It’s dangerous. You’ll be grounded for ever if you get caught. The water reached her chest. Antonia took a deep breath, stretched out her arms and swam.
Dangerous, dangerous, thrummed her brain.
It didn’t feel dangerous. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. Antonia’s legs seemed to meld together as they kicked out, dolphin-style. She was hardly aware of her clothes. Her body felt streamlined as it sliced through the waves of the incoming tide. It was exhilarating. As Antonia neared the dolphins she saw they were watching her and she hoped they wouldn’t take fright and swim away. On impulse she called out, “Please stay.”
Her voice, a shrill whistle, startled her. She cleared her throat and tried again but all that came out was a series of dolphin-like clicks. Antonia’s brain whirled. What was happening to her? She cleared her throat.
“Hello,” she spluttered, swallowing a mouthful of sea. “My name’s Antonia.”
There. She was speaking properly now. Maybe, for a second, the sea water had made her voice go funny. Then a strange clicking voice called out, “Silver Dolphin.”
And with a whistle-like cry Antonia heard herself reply, “I’m coming.”
She swam all the way up to the four dolphins and stopped in front of the largest. He stared at her, his eyes sparkling like sun on raindrops.
“Silver Dolphin,” he clicked. “You answered the dolphin’s call.”
Antonia’s head was dizzy with excitement. For ages she’d dreamt of swimming with the dolphins and now here she was, not just in the water with them, but talking to them too. How could that be? Was she turning into a dolphin? She glanced down at her legs and saw with relief that they were both still there.
The dolphin opened his mouth as if he were laughing at her.
“Believe it,” he whistled kindly. “It’s true. You are our new Silver Dolphin.”
“Me? A Silver Dolphin? What does that mean?” she whistled back.
“It means that you will care for the sea and all the dolphins and creatures living here. It means that you will answer our call when we need help.”
“That’s what Claudia said I had to do when she gave me the necklace.” Antonia stared at the dolphin. “Do you know Claudia?”
“Yes,” the dolphin nodded. “And my name is Spirit. I’m the leader of a dolphin pod that lives out at sea. Pollution has been causing us terrible problems, but the Silver Dolphin makes things better for us. Sadly our Silver Dolphin can’t swim with us now so you have been chosen for the role. Whenever pollution is causing harm we will call on you. If you don’t want to help then you must say so now and we will search for a new Silver Dolphin.”
Questions raced around Antonia’s brain. Why had she been chosen to take the Silver Dolphin’s place? Who had chosen her? And how did Claudia fit into all of this? There was so much she didn’t understand. She wasn’t even sure if this was really happening. Perhaps she’d fallen asleep and was having the most amazing dream. The four dolphins watched her expectantly.
“Please say yes,” squeaked the littlest one.
Antonia stared at him. His eyes sparkled mischievously and he bobbed in the water as if he could hardly bear to keep still. He looked like Spirit, his silver body lined with a narrow stripe that ran from his eyes to his mouth and chin to flipper.
“Please?”
How could she refuse?
“Yes, I’d love to be your Silver Dolphin,” she answered.
The dolphins stared blankly at her and Antonia realised she was speaking in her human voice. She tried again, concentrating hard on behaving like a dolphin and was overjoyed when her voice clicked out her reply. “Yes, I’ll be your new Silver Dolphin.”
“Bubbly!” The littlest dolphin squealed with excitement and swam in circles around Antonia.
“Bubbles, calm down,” said Spirit sternly. “Bubbles is my youngest,” he added. “Then there’s Star, my wife, and Dream, my daughter.”
Dream was only a bit larger than Bubbles, but seemed much more grown-up.
“Hello,” she said indifferently.
Star was very pretty, with similar markings to Spirit only she was lighter in colour. She swam up to Antonia and gently rubbed her nose against Antonia’s. “Thank you,” she said. “It’s not easy being a Silver Dolphin, but we will help you as much as we can.”
“How will I know when I’m needed?” Antonia stuttered.
“You will hear our call,” said Spirit.
Antonia touched her silver dolphin necklace.
“That’s right,” said Spirit. “The necklace is our link with you. I will call you again over the next few days so you can practise answering. Star is right. It’s not easy being a Silver Dolphin. The work can be hard and dangerous.”
Antonia’s stomach fluttered. She desperately wanted to be a good Silver Dolphin, but would she be good enough?
“Can I teach her some swimming moves?” asked Bubbles. He leapt out of the water, his body making a perfect arch.
“Show off!” said Dream.
Spirit clicked a laugh.
“Not yet, Bubbles. Antonia needs time to take all this in. Let her go home now and we will call her again soon. Always wear your charm, Silver Dolphin. It is the only way we can call you.”
Antonia didn’t want to go back home. She wanted to swim with the dolphins, especially Bubbles, and learn all they could teach her. But she didn’t dare disobey Spirit so she whistled a goodbye and headed back to the beach.
As she stepped out of the sea the water poured off her. By the time she’d padded back to her bag and shoes only her hair was slightly damp. Antonia clasped her hand over her dolphin charm. It was silent now, but its body still felt soft and slippery. Just like Star when she’d rubbed Antonia on the nose. Antonia grinned, then catching sight of her watch the grin immediately vanished.
“Oh,