The Shore

So heavy...feeling sick...my tummy hurts...

I slowly open my eyes, only to see myself lying on an unknown beach. The sand stings my body—still better than lying on rough pointy stones, I guess.

Far away, there are some tall, wide buildings. I don’t like learning, so not many words I know. Mum might have told me what they are called before, but I forgot. Anyway, what is this place?

I feel dizzy, the sunshine is bright. It’s so uncomfortable and I can hardly breathe. Am I going to die soon? Probably. Fine...I don’t have any regrets.

Looking up, I see some birds are flying, so high and so fast. I remembered the time I watched the starry sky with mum and sis, it’s so...happy. Mum, sis, I miss you; I want to see you again, I don’t want to die...

No, no, no, no, I want to live! Help, help me! I scream helplessly.

But none of my buddies come.

Mum, sis, I am sorry, I shouldn’t go off in a huff just because of some stupid stuff. Sorry, sorry...sorry sorry sorry sorry...

After a while, no buddies, but two persons, two unfamiliar persons come. They look worried and are whispering. Are they talking about me?

Mum told me not to talk with strangers, but now I am in danger. ‘Save me, please! I don’t wanna die!’ I yell, this is the first time I want some persons to help me.

They hesitate; it looks like they are not sure what to do. Maybe my scream shocks them? It’s true that a girl shouldn’t shout loudly, but again, it doesn’t matter now.

They leave for a while and come back with two more persons. A woman is holding many clothes, so colorful. A man is grabbing a very long thing, looks very hard too. What is that called? The two remaining men are holding two big buckets, one for each.

The woman puts the clothes on my body so that I won’t burn in the sun. The man holding a long thing stands near me. Suddenly, water comes out from that thing and splashes on my body. I feel good, but the clothes are all wet, are they also washing the clothes?

The men with buckets sometimes pour water on me; sometimes pet me, like a kitty or a puppy—looks like they want to comfort me. Still, being touched by men this way is embarrassing. After all, I haven’t seen my father since birth.

‘Thank you, thank you,’ I speak softly. They don’t reply, maybe they don’t know what to say in this kind of situation?

These persons stayed with me for a long, long time. The sky gets dark, so is the ocean. The sea waves keep hitting my body and wetting the sand below me. I can feel my strength comes back, so I try very hard to move into the ocean. The seawater chokes me several times, the salty taste is familiar.

Mom, sis, I am coming back! I move forward little by little, sinking myself into the water. I move away from the shore, from those people who have saved me.

‘Thank you! I will return the favour someday! But next time, don’t touch a girl like your pet, please,’ I surface and shout.

The woman yells excitedly, ‘Goodbye, Miss killer whale! Have a pleasant journey!’

Hey, how impolite! I don’t kill people! I am Luna, an orca—an orca hurrying back to a family.
3