Midnight Dolphin (2 page)

Lucy was what
her Grandma called a
latchkey kid
now
.
More often than not she left an empty house to go to school
and let herself back into one afterwards. At least she was old
enough now that she didn’t have to go into the after-school club
till Dad picked her up. She had her own key and her own mobile
phone and felt quite independent. She liked it that way and was
glad that Dad wasn’t there to ask her stupid questions about how
her day had been when she got home.

Lucy banged
the door shut behind her and walked briskly up the garden path. It
was cold and wet and even though she was wearing a winter jacket
over her school uniform, she shivered. Lucy quickly began to feel
the moisture penetrate through the crack in the sole of her
shoe.

When she got
near her friend Amy’s house Lucy sent her a text and Amy quickly
emerged to walk into school with her.

‘
You reckon
it’s going to snow then?’ asked Amy conversationally. ‘You know,
for Christmas. That’s what my Mum says. She say’s we’re in for a
cold snap.’

‘
Oh it never
snows at Christmas, it just drizzles instead’ said Lucy cynically.
‘Those Christmas cards are a lie’ she added.

‘
You’re a
cheery one this morning’ replied Amy. What’s up with you
then?’

‘
Oh, you know’
replied Lucy. Even if she hadn’t felt so worried about Spirit, the
idea of Christmas without Mum there just made her feel
miserable.

At assembly
the Head of Year talked about the Christmas Play, an adaption of
Dickens’ Christmas Carol and about how they all had to try and sell
tickets to make it a success. Dad had already said he couldn’t make
it to the performance and since Lucy wasn’t actually acting in it,
she didn’t really mind. She’d helped design the programme for the
production though and was quite pleased with some of the drawings
that she’d done for it. There was a sense of anticipation amongst
the children in the school. Everyone liked having a couple of weeks
off school for Christmas but the build up to the big day did make
it feel special. Classes were being decorated and people were
exchanging Christmas cards.

A couple of
her luckier classmates were off on skiing trips over Christmas and
others were going away to visit relatives. Lucy would have liked to
go down to Cornwall to see Bethany, but she knew that wasn’t an
option, not after her last trip down there over the summer. It had
been so blissful to stay with Bethany and to swim with Spirit. Lucy
had even felt happy when Dad had come down to join them; at first
at least.

It was true
that Lucy and Paul had to be saved by the lifeboat. Lucy could see
that Dad had every right to be upset when that happened, but
neither of them had been hurt and there would never have been a
problem if Paul hadn’t got it into his head that he would turn into
a dolphin if he swam out into the stormy sea at night
time.

It was the
next morning in hospital that things all took a horrible, deadening
turn for the worse when Dad told her angrily that she would grow
out of being a Dolphin-Child and that it was just a phase. He said
it was just a matter of months and that she’d stop being able to
communicate with Spirit at all, and that if she ever saw dolphins
after that, it would be from the safety of a boat. Lucy couldn’t
bear the thought of it. She and Paul had been let out of hospital
later that same morning, but the rest of the holiday had been a
disaster. Lucy and Dad had a huge shouting match. She knew that he
thought he was just protecting her but she didn’t want it, she
didn’t need it. He said it was for her own good and that he loved
her, but she didn’t care.

Lucy looked to
Bethany and Thelma, the local woman that had befriended them, for
support, but they too had sadly told her that most Dolphin-Children
grew out of their gift by the time they entered their teens. It was
all part of growing up they said. Lucy couldn’t believe it. She had
thought that Bethany and Thelma were her friends, her allies. Now
she wasn’t so sure. Lucy had a feeling that Bethany had wanted to
say something more to her, but Dad was watching her like a hawk
after all the drama with Star-Gazer and if Bethany had wanted to
tell her something, she certainly didn’t get the chance.

He’d allowed
her to swim with Spirit a couple more times but only with adult
supervision, and then he’d announced that they’d have to cut short
their holiday and drive home. Lucy hadn’t even been able to say
goodbye to Spirit properly. It was as though Dad was afraid to let
her stay down there any longer. He came up with some excuse about
work but Lucy didn’t believe him. She was so angry with Dad that
she’d practically refused to talk to him all during the long drive
back home. In fact, she’d barely spoken to him more than was
necessary for weeks afterwards.

The thing was
that if Lucy lost Spirit as well as Mum, she didn’t know how she’d
be able to go on. Dad just didn’t seem to care.

After assembly
that morning they had French and then it was Eng Lit with Mrs
Penhaligon. Her English teacher’s family were from Cornwall and
Lucy had been amazed to bump into her in Merwater over the summer
holidays. Mrs Penhaligon knew about the local folklore and the
strange link between the local people and dolphins. After she and
Dad had come across her in the local minimarket, Mrs Penhaligon had
told her to come and visit her in her sister’s gift shop where she
was helping out. Lucy hadn’t been able to do so though until after
she and Paul got out of hospital.

Lucy had
broken down in tears when she’d told Mrs Penhaligon what Dad had
said about her losing her gift. Her teacher had put a comforting
arm around her while she cried, but didn’t dispute what Dad had
told her. It seemed as though the whole world had been in on the
secret except her. Thelma, Bethany, Mrs Penhaligon and even Dad
seemed to know; everyone but her.

Now that she
and Mrs Penhaligon were both back at school, Lucy felt that she had
to be careful about what she said to her teacher in case the other
kids began to talk. She knew that Mrs Penhaligon couldn’t be seen
to treat Lucy like she was a favourite. Lucy felt less open than
she had been when they were both in Cornwall. Even so, she would
sometimes catch her teacher looking at her with a thoughtful look
in her eyes.

At the end of
the lesson, Lucy hung back whilst the other children left, scraping
their chairs noisily on the floor as they made a dash for the exit
and lunch. Lucy was so worried about not having been able to reach
out to Spirit these last few days that she was desperate to talk to
her teacher about it.

‘
Mrs
Penhaligon?’ she said warily, ‘Can I speak to you for a
moment?’

‘
Yes of course
Lucy, what is it?’ Mrs Penhaligon replied, turning her full
attention towards Lucy.

‘
I’m sorry,
but I don’t know who else to speak to. It’s just that, well, I’ve
not been able to speak to Spirit for two or three days and I’m
getting really worried.’ Mrs Penhaligon leant against a desk and
regarded Lucy sympathetically.

‘
And you think
that you’re losing your gift?’ she asked with a soft
voice.

‘
Yes, yes I
am’ replied Lucy. Mrs Penhaligon paused for a moment to compose her
thoughts.

‘
You know I’d
like to be able to tell you that it’s not true Lucy, and that
you’ll regain your gift as before. But I’m not going to lie to you.
It
might
be
happening. I really don’t know. I know the stories about
Dolphin-Children, but I’ve never actually met one before. I know
that most Dolphin-Children do lose their gift at about the age that
you are now, but I don’t believe that they all do. You’ve inherited
your gift from your mother haven’t you? What was her experience
like?’

‘
I don’t know’
admitted Lucy. ‘She never spoke about it before she died. I wish
she had. I really do. It would make such a difference to me now.
Dad just refuses to say anything.’

‘
What about
your aunt, would she know?’

‘
I suppose she
would’ replied Lucy. ‘She’s never really told me either
though.’

‘
I think you
need to speak to your aunt or your father’ said Mrs Penhaligon
decisively. ‘They’ve got first hand experience of how it was for
your mother. I think that you need to be told as much as possible
about something as significant as this.’

‘
I just can’t
talk to Dad’ replied Lucy. ‘I suppose I’ll have to speak to Bethany
then.’

‘
I think
that’s a good idea’ replied Mrs Penhaligon. ‘You know there may be
any number of reasons why you can’t communicate with your dolphin
at the moment.’ She could see how worried Lucy looked. ‘Don’t jump
to conclusions. It might just be a temporary thing.’

‘
Thanks Mrs
Penhaligon’ said Lucy, trying to put on a brave smile.

‘
Now off you
go’ said her teacher, ‘or you’ll miss lunch.’

The afternoon
passed by in a blur of maths and geography and before Lucy knew it,
the bell had rung for the end of the day. She had choir practice
after school which she went to with Amy. Lucy loved the feeling of
unity and peace she experienced when all the thirty or so children
in the school choir sung together. Amy was particularly good and
often got to do solos. Lucy was just glad to stay at the back
without attracting attention to herself.

Because it was
winter, it was already dark by the time that choir practice
finished and she and Amy walked home together, glad of each others
company. When she got home Lucy let herself into the empty house
and switched on the light. There was a pile of post on the mat.
Normally the only post they received were bills and circulars which
Dad threw in the bin straight away.

Today though
there was a slim package wrapped in brown paper which had Lucy’s
name and address neatly written on the front. Lucy picked it up
curiously. From the look and feel of it, the package contained a
thin book. Lucy carefully tugged open the wrapping and pulled out
the paperback inside. It was called ‘Flora and Fauna of the Cornish
Coast’ and looked really quite old as the pages had yellowed over
time where they had been exposed to sunlight. Lucy knew that
flora
mean plant life
and
fauna
meant
animal life. She sniffed it. The book smelt dusty and Lucy was
reminded of the kinds of books that her Mum used to like looking
through in the second-hand bookshop down the road from them. She
looked inside the front cover and could see that it was published
in 1976.

Lucy wondered
who the book might be from, and she checked the package carefully
to see if there was a note or a letter still inside. There was
nothing there though, and she didn’t recognise the handwriting on
the front of the package either. It was a mystery. Lucy flicked
through the book and could see that there were plenty of
illustrations of plants and animals within the close-typed pages.
It was a lovely book and she looked forward to reading it but Lucy
simply had no idea of who had sent it to her.

Inside the
back cover there was a scribbled note.

‘
I found this
brilliant book in the junk shop today all about Cornish wildlife
for 15p. A few pages on dolphins, but just scientific stuff, not
folklore or the link between dolphins and kids. I know what I’ve
been told about what happens to Dolphin-Children, but I just don’t
believe it. There must be some way round it. I just know
it.
’

Lucy felt a
shiver go down her spine. It felt as though message was being sent
to her from the past.

Chapter
Two
:

Megan was
talking in her sleep again. It woke Bethany and she sat up to
watch. Megan was deep in her dream and Bethany thought it looked as
though she was trying to swim through her sheets. Megan was
muttering under breath and at first Bethany couldn’t make out what
her sister was saying. Then Bethany could hear more
clearly.

‘
I don’t want
to lose you Jet. Don’t leave me’ Bethany heard her say. Megan
seemed to be clutching at her pillow as though it was another
person, holding it tight to her chest. Megan went quiet for a few
moments but then she heard Bethany again.

‘
No, I’m
coming too!’ she called out in her sleep. Bethany slipped out of
bed and padded across the room. She shook her sister by the
arm.

‘
Wake up, wake
up silly!’ she whispered insistently.

‘
What, what is
it?’ Megan mumbled blearily.

‘
You’re
dreaming!’ whispered Bethany. ‘Very loud. You woke me up!’ Megan
looked around her again. She looked at her younger sisters’ pale
face and big eyes. There was a nightlight in the room because
Bethany was still afraid of the dark so Megan was just about able
to see her. Her younger sister furrowed her brow.

‘
Stop
dreaming!’ she said to Megan very seriously. Megan smiled, fully
aware of where she was now.

‘
Sorry
Bethany. I didn’t mean to. It was just a silly dream but I’m out of
it now. You get back into bed.’ Bethany looked at the illuminated
hands of her travel alarm clock that she’d been given for
Christmas. It was half past three in the morning. ‘Do you want me
to tell you a story to help get you off to sleep?’