Sounds at Sea
By: Jada Goksan, 3rd Place Winner
As Sally lifted me onto the boat, I squirmed and wiggled to try to get out of her firm grip. I was really excited for my first day out onto the sea and I couldn't stop moving.
John called to Sally, “Is Jane okay over there? I hope she doesn't get seasick."
Sally strokes my hair and says “Oh, I'm sure she will be fine, won't you, Jane?” I just stare up at her with my warm, chocolate-brown eyes before I go exploring.
After I looked at every nook and cranny on the boat, John puts the boat into gear and I hear the roar of the engines and run to the front of the boat. I can just see the sun setting over the horizon. Through the crystal clear water, I see little schools of fish speeding out of the way. It is not long before I can look up and see the stars. Sally and John have gone to bed and my fur stand on end while I listen to the spookiest noise of all ... complete silence.
Suddenly I hear a big splash and bark for Sally and John. After what seemed like forever of nervous waiting, Sally, looking sleepy, comes and pets me. She says some soft words to try to calm me down.
“There, there, girl. You're fine now. There's nothing to be afraid of because its only a little fi-” A gasp cuts off her sentence. She stands up and stares at something in admiration. I follow her gaze up to see what could have been the biggest fish in the whole wide world. I thought it would devour our boat easily, but instead it just does a sluggish bellyflop back into the deep, dark ocean, making a noise so loud it hurts my ears.
Shaking the salt water out of my fur, I hear Sally mutter to herself, “Oh, wow! I've never seen a whale that close before.”
I bark and think, So that big fish is called a whale? Okay then. Bye bye, whale, come again soon. I'll protect you from the evil little cats.
Peering over the side of the boat, I still see the big circle of waves the whale-thing left behind like a reminder of his presence. Sally hugs me and goes back to tell John what he missed and continue her interrupted sleep. I stay up on the deck and listen to the soft churning of the waves beneath me and the sloshing sound of the boat bobbing up and down, up and down.
Slowly I am lulled to sleep by the soft swish of the sea, and eventually close my big brown eyes and think about everything I heard on this adventurous night.
In the morning, John picks me up and puts me on the seat while he starts the engine and cruises the way home. He tries to find a whale to see what he missed. Poor old John misses everything interesting.
~The End~
Illustration Copyright © 2009 Roberta Baird
Copyright © 2009 by Jada Goksan, youth author