This vacation has been perfect. I haven’t had to do guard duty for days. I’ve just been spending my time sunning on the deck, basking in the warmth while balmy breezes circulated about. No work was required of me on this trip. This is the life. Miles out on the ocean where you can’t see or smell land if you stood on tippy-toe. Not a living soul in sight, that is until one was hauled aboard at the end of a line. I got up and stretched . I could see the others on the lower deck fishing, eating and listening to IPOD’s. Who ever thought of this little cruise was a genius. (By definition that should mean me, but I can’t take credit for this one.)
As I lengthened my body to the full capacity of my muscles, a craft went whizzing by sending large waves in our direction, rocking our smaller vessel. I rose to my feet to greet the passengers of the other ship with exited whooping and waving; this proofed to be a mistake. Loosing my balance I splashed into the deep. Oh, this isn’t good, I thought as I watched both boats put distance between themselves and me, going in opposing directions of north and south, or was it east and west…oh what difference does it make! The point is no one noticed my predicament.
Sure, I yelled and frantically tried to wave my arms to get their attention but who could hear over their IPOD’s the motors, the wind or the waves. The only witness to my quandary was the furry white mass of meowing annoyance the family I was with called a pet. I shrieked at her to go for help. She just looked at me and licked her ….. That is so not right! I had a deep inner feeling she was enjoying this. She curled up in a ball and rested her head on her paws, apparently in no hurry to be involved in my rescue, no hurry at all. I never did like her.
Thank heavens I was forced to wear this disgustingly orange vest. I had tried on several occasions to shed it but was constantly reprimanded every time I had attempted to cast it off. You‘d think these people owned me! Now I was grateful the ridiculous thing was keeping me above water, bouncing me about like a piece of flotsam. I rotated myself in all directions looking for some hint of land. Nothing met my senses of smell, hearing, or sight. Just salt water, dirty, fishy salt water washed across my mouth. Land had to be nearby somewhere, just over the horizon but on horizon?
Suddenly I spotted something. Was it a mountain peak? No it wasn’t that far away, it was something much closer. Was it a buoy? No, it was moving towards me. Fast. Real fast. It was a fin. Two fins. Three fins. I watched in horror. The words had difficulty escaping my throat.
“Sharks!” I yelled, but to who? I sure didn’t want to hear what I was saying.
I started doggy paddling away , as if I could really out swim sharks. Hope springs eternal. A long carcass swam under me then rose to the surface with me on its spine. Two other long figures broke nose first out of the water straight into the air and back down, flapping their hind flippers on the surface, spraying liquid all about. Dolphins! Taxi dolphins at that. They were giving me the ride of my dear life and believe me, I hung on tightly for dear life.
We came upon a boat with sightseers snapping pictures of a bigger school of dolphins who were putting on an act for their audience. Dolphins are such hams! One of the photographers spotted me in the orange vest I had vowed to not be caught dead in ( how often to we have to eat our words?) and started gesticulating to the crowd. Hands went over the side and pulled me up. Someone threw a nice warm towel around me and patted me down. Oh, that felt good. Especially the rub down on my tummy. (No, I’m not a pervert, it really did feel good.) I was offered something to drink. No thanks, I’ve had enough water today, thank you. Lots of faces pressed close to mine to give me an inspection, squinting into my eyes. A few patted my head , shaking theirs in amazement and scanning the vicinity for any signs of a shipwreck.
It wasn’t long before I realized that my rescuers and I didn’t share the same language. They couldn’t understand any of my attempts to explain my situation or my desire to get back home. They just stared at me and smiled. You know, the smile that means, “I know you’re trying to say something, but I honestly don’t know what it is.”
\When we got back to terra firma I didn’t recognize anything. This wasn’t the same area my party had set sail from. I ran around to all the cars, hoping against hope. Lost; four letters put together never sounded so lonely and foreboding.
After some discussion, that I didn’t comprehend mind you, I was put in a car with a couple and their three kids. This I grasped, I was being abducted. I spent days endeavoring to find a way to get back to my own people. I was kept like a prisoner, locked up and under continuous surveillance. But they treated me like an honored guest even if they restricted my movements. They fed me real good and made provisions for exercise and play.
One day, fortuitously, one of the boys noticed my necklace. It was hidden pretty good by my hair. Holding it between his fingers he read the inscription and yelled for his dad, who also read it.
“By golly, why didn’t we notice this before!” He rushed to the phone and started dialing. When I heard a familiar voice answer on the other end , I raced over and started making as much noise as I could muster. I was shaking with anticipation. This was incredible, I was hearing things; I just had to be. I didn’t see anyone identifiable but I knew that voice. Someone was saying,” Hello, whose there?”
The father spoke into the receiver, “ M’am, you’re not going to believe this, but I think we found your dog in the ocean last week!”
Just wait till I see that cat again! I thought, licking my lips.
Psalm 18:16
Psalm 29:3
Psalm 32:6
Psalm 69:1-2,14
Math 10:29
