CLICKS - The Dolphin Prophecy

CHAPTER 1

 Can’t we just skip to the party? Mica clicked, disturbing me with his intense impatience. His average emotional temperature always burned higher and dipped lower than mine. His feelings influenced us more frequently, but I wanted to enjoy tonight.

Stop. Breathe. This is happening. Look around and enjoy it, ok? I clicked back, attempting to the same.

  Two sets of twins—me and Mica, and Andrew and Darwen. Blake stood by Shayla, mismatched because neither of their twins was there. Around us, stood relatives; the combined generations of The Guard who’d prepared us for this since we were born.

“Welcome to First Night,” said Stoney, his rumbly voice so much like Blake’s. “Please close your eyes.”

Following orders, I concentrated on the shadows and flashes I saw in my mind and let my other senses capture the moment. Briny saltwater and honeysuckle hit my nose, the wind shivered with expectation.

 “On this First Night, we rededicate ourselves to an ancient covenant that is symbolized by this pin, which represents the balance in our world. You join those who’ve come before you and vow to protect the ocean from land, nature from man. You may now look.”

As head lifeguard, Stoney had top authority on our Island and the run of this ritual. Silver flashed through his long fingers, the famous pin. I recognized it without ever seeing it before. Stoney placed it on a central stone.

The pin needed to stand at a right angle to the ocean, representing the pivotal balance between ocean and land, animal, and man. When it did, our Island, our people, and the ocean stayed healthy. When it tilted, disease and disaster would come.

I held my breath, wondering how it looked for us this year. The pin wavered for just a moment, then landed perpendicular to the horizon line. A celebratory cheer went up all around us, and the music started again.

A combination of beats, claps, clicks, and hums that I’d heard since in the cradle, but never in a ceremony like this. Rhythm and music were a big part of Pinhold life. Visitors joined our weekly drum circles on the beach, and stayed to listen to the wave organ built into the cliffs that played a series of gong sounds at every high tide.  Tonight, they stirred that feeling of connection and continuity that had always eluded me before.

To the untrained ear, the clicks and whistles probably sounded like nothing more than rhythmic nonsense that played along with the beat. When, in fact, they were imitations of the sounds made by the dolphins that lived in our bay—we were inviting the dolphins to join us and witness our commitment to protect their home.

“We call you to pledge yourself as the guardians of the sea. Witnessed by the sacred swirl, do you pledge to protect the ocean from land and the animals from man?” Stoney asked. His voice pulsed in time with the pounding drumbeats.

“Yes,” said six voices in unison, including mine.

“Now, it is time to answer in the language of the ancients.” Stony instructed, keeping his voice low. “When I touch you, repeat after me.”

Stony started with Mica. The strange sounds rolled from his tongue with ease. Instantly I heard the dolphins chattering over the kicked up breeze. My heart jumped along with their increased activity in the water. The legends said we needed them to witness our pledge, but they didn’t come around for every ritual anymore.

As each of my friends took the vow, the dolphins’ talk faded, as if they headed the wrong way. The tension grew palpable until Blake spoke, when the noise got louder, but not closer. Finally, my turn came.