The Search Begins
Chapter 13: Together or Alone
The story so far: Mattie learns more about his father`s legacy from dolphins in his pod. He begins to understand more about his heritage and why his mother waited to share the information with him. Nicte-ha confirms that to find Polaris Jack, Mattie must first find the oldest and wisest dolphin in the sea.
“We are coming with you Mattie!” Both Poindexter and Kayote were firm in their commitment to stay together with their friend; their brother in spirit.
“I understand and am grateful for your support and loyalty. This is my quest though, not yours.” This argument had been going on back and forth for days.
His two friends had stated all the obvious reasons that they were insisting on joining him on this journey. They had also appealed to his logical side. They reminded him of how many times they had helped each other and yes, even saved each other.
“You cannot do everything by yourself. It is easier in a group. It is safer in a group,” Kayote pointed out.
“Trust you Kayote, to use great logic to convince me to accept the company of you and Poindexter,” Mattie replied.
“How can you play games by yourself? That is not FUN!” Poindexter was the one who balanced the logical reasons with the emotional ones.
“We will always have your back the same way you have had our backs. I am your cousin and we are your friends. We will miss you and I know you will miss us too.”
“I do not have any idea where I am going or how long it will take,” replied Mattie. “I don’t even know if I can find this lost place under the water. Why have we never heard about this before? Is it real? Is this a fool’s journey? I have no idea what dangers I will have to face.”
“Well, what we have learned is that this is life! It is full of joy and excitement and it is also full of challenges. We have also learned we can trust each other to be there through the good and the bad.” Kayote wasn’t giving up.
“Furthermore,” continued Kayote, “Fun is more fun when shared. Challenges are easier when shared. That is one of the reasons that your mother knew she needed to stay with Proprius. She knew he had no one but her. She also knew that you had us. We would be letting Awalix down if we weren’t there with you.”
That was the thing that made up Mattie’s mind for him.
“Alright, alright you can come with me,” said Mattie.
In his heart of hearts, he knew they were right. “However,” he said aloud, “if there is a reason that we cannot continue to travel together, you have to promise me that you will understand and allow me to finish my quest alone. We will always be able to find each other again.”
Kayote and Poindexter readily agreed and plans for the trip ahead began in earnest.
To begin, they would stay with their pod but go off separately in different directions every day seeking other pods and dolphins that might have some information to help them. Then they would return to their pod and compare the news they had gathered. If there was a dolphin that was this old and wise, others must have heard of him. Others may even have found him. Dolphins had a network system that was second to none. They would leave every sunrise and return every sunset starting tomorrow.
The first few days they were so excited that they didn’t mind coming back without any news that would help with the search. They often came back though with stories and questions about Mattie. Many of the dolphins they met had attended the Dolphin Olympics a few years earlier, and any mention of Mattie’s name brought a lot of questions from the dolphins wanting to know if all the stories they had heard were true. Kayote and Poindexter heard many stories that had no basis in fact that they happily shared with Mattie. Mattie would laugh at the stories but it made him wonder about how many stories that were shared about Polaris Jack were true. They couldn’t all be true, could they? This role of being considered a hero was becoming a bit of a problem.
As more and more days went by without news, disappointment set in.
Then the day came when Kayote was so excited he could hardly contain himself. He had heard something. He had heard from a pod of older dolphins that some dolphins were specifically chosen to go and train under the oldest and wisest dolphin. It was considered a very big honour to be selected. Out of respect the oldest and wisest dolphin was called ‘THE WISE ONE.’
This was the first news that indicated to Mattie and Poindexter they were on the right track. They were bound to come across a dolphin that had trained and learned from the wise dolphin. Once they found that dolphin he or she would surely know where to find the oldest and wisest dolphin.
From that day forward it was decided they would need to travel farther and return after two sunsets instead of one. They would make sure to have a really good feast before they set out so that they would not be hungry. And, they would rest a day between trips because of the distances they were travelling.
After one particular trip, Mattie was the first to return to the pod. He was bursting with excitement. He had news to share. As soon as Kayote and Poindexter returned, Mattie circled them and eagerly began speaking.
“It may not seem like a lot but I met a group of dolphins who have had members of their pod also seek out this famous dolphin. Apparently he resides in warm waters and has the knowledge of why the dolphins are on this planet, our history, our purpose and our legacy.”
“Why have we not been aware of this before now?” It made no sense to Kayote or to Poindexter.
“We were too young. This information is usually shared among dolphins once they have left their pods to seek their own destiny.” Not everyone is granted council by this dolphin. Can you imagine all of the dolphins in the oceans going to him? It would be impossible. Therefore his location is not common knowledge. There are clues that will lead us to ‘The WISE ONE.’”
“What is our next step?” asked Poindexter.
Mattie replied, “We are to find the ones that share their waters with us…. the GREAT ONES!”
“WHAT? Even though their sounds fill our waters we have never even been close enough to see one of them. I have heard their eyes alone are as big as we are and that by slapping their tails on the water they can sink a hard fish.” Poindexter was shaking with fear.
Kayote shook his head at his friend, “Now Poindexter, you can’t believe all of the tales you have heard. That is silly.”
“But Mattie, Kayote listen to me.” Poindexter continued. “I have heard they are bigger than some of the lands that we see in the waters. I have heard when they open their mouths they can take in thousands of tiny krill. THOUSANDS !!!! ” That means it wouldn’t be too hard to swallow each of us! I don’t want to be swallowed by a shark or a GREAT ONE.”
“In fact,” he said with great fear in his voice, “I am not going any farther.”
To be continued Monday, March 5. Next Time: There She Blows