The Dolphin Way
Chapter 10: Going Home
Mattie becomes friends with Fang and the two decide to leave this safe haven to find their families.
The plan is for Mattie to help take Fang to the Abyss before continuing his search for his mother and friends.
Free to swim forward. Free to swim fast. Mattie would swim as fast as he could and then head to the top where he would leap into the air over and over and again. Then he would race back to Fang, swimming around and around him. Mattie knew Fang trusted him and he didn’t want to lose that trust so he was always careful not to stay on the surface for too long. He knew he was responsible for finding Fang’s home and he was committed to staying with Fang and talking him through the path they were taking.
Progress was slow but steady. Fang knew that Mattie was making a point of not staying on the surface for too long but he didn’t like it when Mattie left him. Fang did not talk much and he was remembering to keep his fangs together unless he got hungry. But, contrary to eating himself to death, Fang was finding it difficult to eat because when fish saw him they scattered in his wake. In fact, eating and keeping full was becoming a bit of a problem because fish were avoiding him completely. The fish that he did catch were caught because as they were scattering they got in each other’s way and then found themselves trapped within his teeth!
“At least in the Abyss they couldn’t see me coming and in the gold home I could just go out gulp my meal and then go back. They didn’t even see me coming there either. But to swim and watch all of the fish take one look at me and scatter out of fright….I don’t like it Mattie! And Mattie how are we going to find my home and when? And, and, and what if we never find it?” asked Fang in a quivering voice.
“But you have to BELIEVE we can do it and SEE yourself back in your home!” encouraged Mattie. “You have to think positive and know it WILL come to BE!”
And then, sure that he had reassured Fang, off Mattie would go again.
Mattie called out his signature whistle each time he went to the surface. At night he would call to the moon and would hear the night fill with the sounds of his own kind. It filled his heart with such joy. He was heading towards the closest calls. Perhaps the closest calls were not coming from dolphins in his pod but at least it was a beginning to being with his family again!
It was the third day of their journey together.
“I am going back!” Fang announced. “I made a mistake Mattie. I like safe. I kept thinking about what I was missing when I was there. Now, I keep thinking that I wish I was there!”
With that Fang turned and started swimming away from Mattie. He didn’t even wait to hear what Mattie was going to say. He didn’t even want to hear what Mattie was going to say. He had made up his own mind and he was just going.
Mattie stared and stared. He swam after Fang and actually swam so that he was in front of him
and facing him.
Fang stopped. “Oh, thank you by the way!” he gargled. “Now I know that I want to be there. You allowed me the chance to go back and when I had the chance I was finally able to understand that I could not be happy there anymore. I have seen the light! I have seen what it is like to be safe and have friends. I belong with them. I will enjoy them and value them now that I am able to choose the place that I want to be instead of feeling that I had to be there. I really wasted a lot of time thinking about what I had lost and not looking at what I had. Thank you for that understanding Mattie. I wish you well and hope you find what you are wishing for. I also hope that when you find it, it is what you REALLY want!”
Mattie had no idea how Fang was going to make it back on his own but it appeared that Fang was determined and that Mattie was not going to stop him.
“I wish you a safe trip, Fang! I understand why you need to return. Who knows, I may even come back and visit some day after I have found my family.”
With a flick of his tail and circling Fang three times again as a final good bye, Mattie headed for the surface. He had no doubts about his own quest. He was off to find his family.
Mattie swam faster and faster. He called his signature whistle again and this time he heard the collective whistles of a pod close by. He
headed in their direction, almost flying through the waters! Mattie was sooo excited. He knew the pod was probably not his but that didn’t matter. Just hearing the whistles of dolphins again made Mattie feel that much closer to home.
There they were. A large pod, much larger than his own, and made up of mostly older dolphins. Groups of them were leaping and twirling as they came to meet him. They were mirroring each other perfectly. Mattie thought they were a beautiful sight! Their welcome was like watching a wonderful dance across and above the water; they were flying, soaring and doing somersaults. Mattie had never seen anything like it…except at the Olympics!
As they reached Mattie they started to circle him. They continued until they had all arrived and were circling him. What a welcome!
A dolphin approached Mattie with a smile on his face. Except that Mattie now realized that dolphins always had smiles on their faces and so he waited to hear what this dolphin had to say.
Facing him, the dolphin said, “You used the signature whistle of a dolphin named Mattie, but he is not known to have a star on his forehead. We would have heard should he have had such a special marking. Why are you using his whistle? Are you claiming his feats and accomplishments? He is now known throughout the oceans. What you do is WRONG! He was taken from us by the Twirling Monster but his memory will live forever amongst us!”
Mattie was stunned by this news. How could it be that he, little Mattie, was known throughout the oceans for his feats and accomplishments? He had to convince this dolphin that he really was Mattie and not an imposter. Pulling himself up tall and speaking with great confidence, Mattie replied, “I am Mattie! Son of Awalix and Polaris Jack! I was separated from my pod by the Twirling Monster but it spit me out and now I ask for help or news of my pod so that I can return to them.”
Cheers and the splashing and a great chorus of whistles filled the air. Mattie was stunned. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t understand what was happening.
“But all I want to know is where my pod is. Why is everyone making such a fuss? It isn’t making any sense to me….and it is actually scaring me a bit,” Mattie clicked.
The dolphin spoke again, “What do you mean; you don’t know what is happening? You are famous! Legendary even! All of us know about how you saved us from losing two of our greatest heroes in the “Great Challenge!’ And stories abound about how you are taking right after your father the famous Polaris Jack. But Mattie, we also heard that you had died in the wake of the Great Twirling Monster.”
“Well I almost did!” replied Mattie. “But after I was spit out of the twirling monster I found a safe place and some friends who looked after me until I was well enough to set out and find my family. It was in the Twirling Monster that I was hit in the melon with something. My friends think it must have been a starfish. But what I really need to know is where my mother is. Is she safe? What about my pod? Are they safe? Where are they?”
All of the dolphins stopped and a heavy silence filled the air.
The first dolphin again spoke up. “Forgive me Mattie. In our excitement about meeting you we have not dealt with things in a ways that shows compassion and understanding. I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Jo Jo. The others will introduce themselves with their signature whistles when time allows. But first things first. We have heard that your mother is alive Mattie. But Mattie we have also heard that she no longer swims free. She has been taken to a place from which none return.”
Next Time: Mattie’s New Challenge