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The small bit of wood shuddered as a wave crashed over it. It spun, then settled into the trough as the water swept past. The limp figure clinging to it hardly noticed; it merely shifted its grip slightly and feebly tried to pull itself a little farther onto the piece of flotsam.
It had been two hours. Perhaps. The figure opened its eyes and looked around weakly. It glanced at its watch, miraculously still running. Yes, two hours. Two hours ago, he had been joking with his friends and sipping a beer; watching the reel and hoping that a fish would nibble. They had been thirty miles out of Aruba in a medium sized cabin cruiser owned by one of the five; he had made it in the software business, and the four others had accepted his hospitality.
The storm had been sudden, and nasty; they had managed to get a call out before the boat was inundated with seawater, and before they knew it, they were floundering in the ocean. The helicopter had come, and four had been picked up from the small raft which had inflated itself on touching the water. The fifth had drifted out of sight, and by the time the others had regained consciousness enough to tell their rescuers that one was missing, he had drifted far enough that the pilot and crew had been unable to find him before having to return for fuel.
Jenner coughed, and spat up some salt water. He wondered how long he could hold his grip on the small friendly piece of wood, and admitted to himself that the answer was not very heartening. He considered, in a vague sort of way, that he was probably going to die. It didn't seem to bother him very much; nothing really did. He did not have any desire to release his bit of wreckage, though.
He drifted, and slept, and awoke again, still grasping the bit of the transom that had buoyed him so far. He looked at his watch, and found that it had finally stopped after five hours or so; there was water inside the dial. He dropped his hand and stared for a while at the horizon. After a bit he had an idea, and attempted to tie himself to the wreckage using the sleeves of his pullover, but couldn't manage it. He pulled the shirt back on and gripped the wood tighter.
Jerking his head upright with a start, Jenner realized with fear that he had nodded off and that it was night; the tops of the waves gleamed with a soft phosphorescence, and looking up he saw the stars blanketing the sky, small jewels far out of reach. He shouted, then, once, at the indifference of the world, and slumped despairingly over his small wooden float. Staring out over the waters, he saw a small spot of white, and, curious, he strained his eyes. Unable to make it out clearly, he paddled closer, until he was able to make out the translucent dome of a jellyfish. In horror, he stroked off the other way, until he was exhausted, and stopped to breathe. After a time, he cried, and soon fell asleep.
Jenner awoke just before dawn, and idly wondered how he was managing to keep his death's grip on his float. He watched the sun come slowly over the edge of the waters. Hunger rumbled at his stomach, and his hands and arms ached. Suddenly thinking that he should make some effort, he began paddling away from the sun, towards what he hoped was Aruba.
He had been paddling for about twenty minutes when he saw a small splash in the water ahead. Warily, he searched the blue, and caught a glimpse of a triangular fin cutting through the waves in front of him. His breath stopped in his throat, and he clutched the wood to his chest as the shark circled him silently. Once it came in right past him, and he could see the small malevolent eye of the beast as it rolled to look at him. It swam out some dozens of feet, and turned to face him. Jenner shut his eyes, wondering what he would feel. Something brushed his leg, and he screamed, until he realized that it had gone by him in the wrong direction. He opened his eyes, and saw a tremendous thrashing in the water ahead, and more fins heading towards it. Different fins; these were of a different shape, and as he watched, one of them broke the surface, the sun gleaming off the dolphin's flank as it dove on the shark. The splashing was loud in his ears, and he watched as the shark suddenly swung away and vanished in the distance. The dolphins returned, and formed a loose circle around him. One swam to face him, and floated there, watching him. He struggled to speak, and fainted.
The dolphin gently swam beneath him, and lifted him up onto its curved back. The others moved out to surround the two, and the group began to slowly swim west.
The water slipped past, and Jenner regained consciousness to feel himself sliding through the waves. Reflexively, he grabbed for his wood, and felt it comfortingly near. His hands also slid against something slick, and he had a moment of panic before he realized that it was the back of the dolphin that was carrying him. He wrapped his arms about it, and hugged it close. The dolphin, seeming to realize that he was awake, slowed and lifted itself far enough out of the water to chitter at him before resuming its slow stroke. Jenner patted it blindly, and buried his face in its skin.
They remained that way for several hours, and then suddenly the dolphin shook itself, throwing Jenner off its back, and dove for the depths. Jenner cried out in loss, and felt blindly around before locating his bit of debris. He wept salt while the other dolphins watched him silently. One swam timidly towards him, and nuzzled his hand. He felt strangely reassured, and ran his hand along its snout. The dolphin looked at him gently, and then backed away. He watched it go, puzzled, and another dolphin surfaced near him. He knew, somehow, that it was the one that had been carrying him. It approached, and he saw that it had something in its mouth. As it came closer, he saw the fish, and understood. His dolphin stopped, and shook the fish at him. He smiled, and reached out to take it. The dolphins watched as he bit into it, the blood and juices running down his chin to mingle with the sea. When he had finished eating those parts of the fish that he was able, he grinned at his dolphin, and began to laugh. The dolphin thrust itself up out of the water to stand on its tail, and splashed him vigorously. Still laughing, he splashed it back, and when it had fallen back into the water, swam to it and held it close. The other dolphins swam about them, watching, guarding, and he rolled onto the dolphin's back and they once again began to swim slowly towards the sky where it met the water.
Sleep claimed him again, and he slept soundly until he was awakened by the gentle nudging of his dolphin. He shook himself awake, and looked out across the waters wonderingly. He searched the waves, until he saw what he had been supposed to see, and his heart thumped in his chest. The immense circle of light green water turned to bubbles, and with majestic slowness, the mouth of the whale emerged from the water, to sink back again full of the fish that had fled its breath. Jenner watched, fascinated, as the whale rolled over and its flukes rose slowly out of the water, to slip beneath the surface once more. He looked at his dolphin, but the other was floating silently, watching the spot where the whale had disappeared. He turned back, just in time to see the side of the whale rise to the surface not ten feet in front of him. Awed, he could only hold his float as the giant eye rolled out of the water to look directly at him for several seconds. After what seemed to be forever, the whale rolled back upright and blew a spout of condensation high into the air, and sank slowly from sight. Jenner watched it go, feeling accepted and at peace.
His dolphin nudged him, and he turned to look into its playful eyes. He laughed, and hugged it again. Squeaking its joy, the dolphin pulled him up and started off in the direction it had been traveling, the others warily riding around them. Once, there was a brief struggle almost out of Jenner's vision, but he never found out what had happened; the other dolphins returned, and the journey resumed.
After a timeless time, he ate again, and slept again, and finally there was a noise in the air, and he turned to see the small dot sinking towards him. The dolphins immediately began to kick up a fuss, splashing the ocean into creamy white scars, and as the helicopter landed to float gently on its pontoons, he was towed over to the float by his companion.
Then arms were lifting him, and voices babbling excitedly, and as he was pulled from the water for the first time in days, his dolphin reared up to chitter at him, splashing the men in the helicopter. One of them lifted his arm in annoyance, and made as if to slap the dolphin away, but suddenly, Jenner grabbed his arm in an unexpectedly strong grip The other looked into his snarling face, and hurriedly dropped his arm. Jenner was pulled into the aircraft, and the other stood wondering for a moment. He turned to look at the dolphin still waiting there, and the dolphin looked back at him for a moment, and then slid beneath the waves, and suddenly there wasn't a dolphin to be seen anywhere. Uneasily, the man climbed back inside and the helicopter lifted from the water to begin the trip home.
Jenner's friends were waiting at the pad, and as he stepped weakly down from the machine, they clustered around shouting their greetings and relief, but stopped short at the strange faraway look he had. He turned once to look at the sea behind him, and then turned back, and the sorrow was painful to see. Then he smiled, as if seeing them for the first time, and they resumed their babbling. Jenner let himself be pulled towards the hotel, looking back over his shoulder at the silent blue water.
Jenner refused to go back to the States with his friends. They left him there in the islands, after he assured them that he would indeed be returning, if not immediately. They looked at him, and at the strange look in his eyes, and quietly boarded the airplane. Jenner watched them go, and slowly returned to the waterfront.
He is still there; he does odd jobs to live, and occasionally he disappears for days at a time. When asked where he has been, he just smiles. People often see him feeding and playing with dolphins off the beach. Some say he talks to them, but he makes no reply, instead he quietly returns to the surf and to his friends waiting there.
from long, long ago...