"Dance of the Dolphin"
Chapter 4.
Again, he crumpled down onto the dock, with the tree branch dipping in and out of the water. His singing was getting louder and seemed impatient; almost as if he were waiting for something to happen, something to appear from the depths of the dark blue-green water.
Suddenly, from the middle of the lagoon, not more than twenty feet from our boat, the water splashed upward as a bottle-nosed dolphin emerged from the surface, dove into the air, and splashed down again. The boy's song turned to that of pure joy, as he splashed the branch in and out of the water, beckoning the silvery blue-grey mammal to come to him. The dolphin swam in tight circles and seemed to be singing in tune with the boy. He continued to submerge then resurface, diving into the air and back down into the water with graceful, almost choreographed like splashes.
Jeremy reached his hand out as far as he could into the water; splashing, desperate for contact with the beautiful mammal. Finally, the dolphin appeared by his side, and Jeremy ran his hand along the entire length of his glistening body. He then got up and danced himself back down the dock and onto the shore, where he waded into the water up to his waist. The dolphin followed as closely as he could, stopping just a few feet from the boy and the shore.
Just as suddenly as he emerged, the dolphin made one last spectacular run, where he propelled himself up into the air, splashed his goodbye, and was gone. Jeremy wasn't ready for this sudden departure, and he franticly splashed and danced and sang some more. Then, he just gave out and crumpled onto the ground by the water's edge, exhausted and spent.
With tears streaming down my face, I looked at Liz, and she smiled through her own tears. Nick walked down to his son, and very gently, scooped him up and held him. He spoke softly to him, calming him down, soothing him. Nick looked towards us and nodded proudly. I realized; just then, that we had witnessed something so private, so sacred- so magical. I knew that it was an honor to have been invited to be a part of something this special. It would stay with me for the rest of my life. I turned to Liz, fighting off more tears, and simply said, "Thank you."
