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8
Mission accomplished
During the night Dilo was watched over by the man who had lured him into the net.
“Don’t you die on me you great fish, he said.
Dilo liked the sound of the man’s voice and gasped heavily through his blowhole.
When the sun rose another man came on deck. The boat slowed. An awning was put over Dilo to keep off the sun. The man kept Dilo sprayed with water as the boat progressed at a slow speed throughout the day. In the late afternoon Sea Wolf cruised to a stop. Dilo heard the anchor chain rattle over the side. The engines revved and finally stopped.
As the sun set the diver who had caught Dilo came back on deck. Dilo felt forlorn. The dolphin tried to communicate with the man. He wanted to tell him that he wasn’t angry, just sad at what had been done. The man removed the awning and Dilo could see the stars. The dolphin remembered how, when he went to the surface of the sea on the night his mother died, he saw her outline in the stars. It confirmed something he felt deep inside. He knew her spirit would always be there. The sight of the stars comforted the lonely dolphin. Then, as now, he could feel his mothers presence. There were other dolphins with her. They were swimming in the night sky. The heaviness Dilo had been feeling started to disappear. Dilo felt light.
“I’m coming to join you.” said Dilo as he started to float out of the cradle.
”Come on dolphin, breathe. breathe.” came an urgent voice from far away.
“Don’ t peg out on me now.”
The man was speaking to Dilo. He stroked Dilo’s head. Dilo took a long breath and once again was aware of his weight.
“Phew, thank goodness for that.” said the man with relief. “You haven’t breathed for so long I thought you’d gone.”
Shortly after that all of the crew were on deck.
“It’s nearly high water,” said the man in charge. “I’m going to get as close inshore as I can.”
All lights on the boat were switched off. The engines started and the black-hulled boat slid slowly towards the beach.
“That’s as far as I can go. We’re just touching the bottom,” said the man at the wheel.
The winch motor hummed as Dilo was lifted out of the boat. Four crewmen jumped into the sea, which came up to their chests. Each one took the end of a pole as Dilo was lowered into the water.
Dilo felt great relief to be back in the sea again. He breathed deeply for the first time since his capture. His pectoral fins were still sticking through the holes in the canvas stretcher. The men were holding it so he couldn’t move. They steadied themselves in the water.
“You three OK?” asked the head diver in a husky voice.
“Yeah,” his companions answered.
“Come on then, let’s finish the job,” he continued.
They floated Dilo almost to the shore.
“Now comes the tricky bit,” said the leader.
“Turn him sideways and pull out the poles.”
The men waited for a small wave to carry Dilo forward. Then they removed the poles and quickly pulled the canvas from under the dolphin. When the next wave came they pushed Dilo as far as they could up the beach. When it receded Dilo felt gritty sand rubbing into his skin. The dolphin thrashed his tail but it waved in the air.
“We’ll have to wait to make sure a wave doesn’t lift him free.”
When the next big wave came and lifted Dilo briefly off the sand, the men pushed Dilo higher up the beach. After that none of the waves reached the dolphin. The tide had turned. Dilo would never get away now.
“Let’s go back to the boat,” said the chief diver. He took one last look at Dilo.
“Good luck dolphin,” he said as he waded back into the sea.
Sea Wolf had moved out into slightly deeper water. The men swam the last part of the journey, taking the poles and the canvas sling with them. They were all back on board when the man in charge came out of the wheelhouse. He was holding a phone to his ear.
“Mission accomplished, the dolphin’s in position on the beach. Now it’s up to you,” he said as he stepped back into the wheelhouse.
It was beginning to get light. The engines roared and Sea Wolf sped towards the open sea, leaving Dilo stranded on the empty beach.
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