Summer Waters - River Rescue

“Thank you for answering our call, Silver Dolphin,” said Spirit. “Bubbles and Dream have found an old fishing net on the seabed.”

“Show me where,” said Antonia at once. Lost or abandoned fishing nets posed a serious threat to sea life. If animals got stuck in them they either starved or drowned.

“Follow me,” said Bubbles importantly.

Antonia dived under the sea and swam after Bubbles, with Spirit, Star and Dream following.

“There,” said Bubbles, pointing with his nose.

“Don’t get too close,” Spirit clicked in warning as Bubbles swam nearer.

The net was like a hideous brown monster slumbering on the seabed. Antonia swam round it, her eyes quickly sliding over the rotting fish and the dead starfish trapped in its squares. It was large and would be awkward to carry, but she thought she could manage it on her own. Fighting back her revulsion, Antonia pulled the dead creatures away then carefully folded the net in half and rolled it into a bundle.

“Stay back,” she warned as Bubbles inched closer to see what she was doing.

Antonia scooped the net up and swam upwards until her head broke through the water’s surface.

“Phew,” she panted. “It’s heavy.”

“When he arrives the other Silver Dolphin will help you get it ashore,” said Bubbles confidently.

“He’s not coming,” said Antonia. “He’s gone to meet his parents. They’ve come back from Australia to visit him.”

“That’s lovely. He must really miss them,” clicked Star sympathetically.

“He does,” said Antonia.

Bubbles looked scared. “What if he decides to go and live in Australia with his parents?” he asked.

Antonia laughed and said confidently, “That won’t happen. Cai loves it here. Being a Silver Dolphin is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.”

The net was weighing her down so she headed to shore. The dolphins swam with her, clicking encouragement but not offering any help nets were too dangerous. Soon Antonia was red in the face with exertion.

“Not far now,” she panted as the beach drew closer.

“Can the Silver Dolphin come back and play when she’s taken the net ashore?” asked Bubbles hopefully.

“Yes, if she’d like to,” clicked Spirit.

Antonia shook her head sadly. “I’d love to, but I can’t. I’m needed at Sea Watch today. I’ll play another time.”

Bubbles looked disappointed as he said goodbye, splashing his tail in the water.

Antonia headed straight for the beach. When it was shallow enough to paddle, she dumped the net in the surf while she caught her breath. Sea water poured from her clothes like a miniature waterfall, leaving everything as dry as if she’d never been in the water. Antonia ran her hand through her long, blonde hair, straightening out a few damp tangles. A nasty odour was coming from the net. Antonia wrinkled her nose and, holding it carefully away from her, carried it up the beach and fed it into the dustbin. If Cai had been there to help she would have taken the net back to the Sea Watch bin rather than fill the one on the beach, but it was too heavy and smelly to carry to Sea Watch on her own.

Antonia put on her shoes and socks, chuckling as she remembered Bubbles’s comment about Cai returning to live with his parents. Cai was very excited about seeing his mum and dad, but there was no way he’d go back to Australia with them. His world was here in Sandy Bay. Thinking about the fun times they’d had together, Antonia hurried to Sea Watch.

It felt funny going to Sea Watch, knowing that neither Cai or Claudia would be there. The door was unlocked, but the building had an empty feel to it.

“Hello, is anyone here?” called Antonia.

“Hi, Antonia, I’m in the back room,” Sally, an adult volunteer who took charge when Claudia was away, called out.

Antonia opened the door and found Sally sitting on a chair, feeding a fox cub with a baby’s bottle.

“You’re early,” Sally said, smiling at Antonia.

“Not as early as you,” said Antonia, smiling back. “Oh, how sweet! When did the fox cub come in?”

“This is Rusty. A motorist brought him in last night. His mother was killed by a car. The motorist found him lying next to her at the side of the road.”

Antonia stood very still, watching the cub suck lethargically from the bottle of milk. He had chocolate-coloured fur, large ears and a tiny black nose.

“He’s so cute,” she whispered.

Rusty couldn’t finish the bottle. Sally looked worried as she put him back in his pen.

“I’ll try him again later,” she said, shutting the door.

Rusty settled down with his nose in his tail and closed his eyes.

“Maybe he’s tired,” said Antonia.

“Let’s hope so. He had quite a traumatic night. Claudia said he was terrified when he first arrived. Poor Claudia! She was up half the night dealing with Rusty, so she didn’t get much sleep before she had to get up and go to the airport.”

Sally poured Rusty’s milk down the sink and washed the bottle.

“What do you want me to do today?” asked Antonia.

“The razorbill and the herring gulls need cleaning out and feeding, but if that’s too much for you I could find something easier?”

“I’ll do the birds,” said Antonia, pleased to be busy. Sea Watch felt weird without Claudia and Cai. It was far too quiet and empty. Antonia hoped that some other volunteers would arrive soon. Putting on a disposable apron and a pair of gloves, she collected cleaning materials and went outside to the aviaries. The first one contained Billy the razorbill, who was recovering from getting oil on his feathers. He sat on a perch watching Antonia navigate the porch with its double-door system designed to stop birds escaping.

“Urr,” he said conversationally.

“Urr,” answered Antonia, mimicking his throaty growl.

She removed the soiled straw from his sleeping quarters and replaced it with a fresh batch. Then she cleaned out his water bowl and refilled it. After that, Antonia swept and mopped the concrete floor. Finally, she left Billy with a fish breakfast and went outside to sweep round the aviary, clearing away the bits of straw and bird seed.

“Hi, Antonia.”

Antonia was so engrossed in her job that she hadn’t heard Emily arrive.

“Do you need any help?”

“Yes, please,” said Antonia. “I’m just about to start on the gulls.”

It was fun working with Emily. She made Antonia laugh telling her stories about life in Year Seven at Sandy Bay High, the local comprehensive. They finished the gulls in half the time it had taken Antonia to do Billy and then went inside. To Antonia’s surprise it was mid-morning and time to stop for a break. She sat with Sally and the other volunteers and was drinking squash and eating a biscuit when Cai arrived back from the airport with his parents and Claudia.

“Everyone, this is my mum and dad,” announced Cai, pinching a biscuit from the plate.

Antonia had met Cai’s parents before, but hadn’t seen them for ages and was overcome with shyness. She quickly recovered when Mr and Mrs Pacific hugged her warmly.

“How was your flight?” she asked, hugging them back.

“Good,” said Mr Pacific, “until we stepped off the plane and remembered how cold it is here in April.” He shivered dramatically and chattered his teeth.

“This isn’t cold, it’s warm!” exclaimed Cai.

Mr and Mrs Pacific looked as sleepy as Rusty the fox cub after their long flight, but Cai was too excited to notice and insisted on showing them round with Antonia.

“Come and see outside,” he said, after they’d looked at everything indoors. “We’ve got new aviaries, a deepwater pool and our own beach.”