It had been a full day since they put their plan into action. The four of them sat huddled on the floor with newspapers and phone books scattered all around them. Ollie was on a call with one of the trucking companies.
“… I mean, yes, that’s what I’m asking you,” Ollie said.
The man on the speakerphone was from the transportation company and sounded very confused. “So, let me get this straight, you need two semitrucks—”
“That’s right,” replied Ollie.
“And you need them to move animals from Red Hook Channel to Sunny View Animal Sanctuary in Hartford?
“Yep!”
“Who are you, Noah?” asked the man.
“No, I’m Ollie! Who is Noah?”
“Like the ark.”
“What’s an ark?”
“It’s a boat … a boat that carries animals. Noah’s Ark?” the man asks.
“Hold on.” Ollie covered the speaker and looked at the other kids. “Did you know about this guy named Noah who has a boat to carry animals? I say we just call him.”
Zeek lifted Ollie’s hand off the speaker and said to the man on the phone. “Sir, we will have to call you back!” He hung up the phone. “Ollie, you nitwit! That’s Noah’s Ark, the Bible story!” Zeek said.
“Well, fine then, if you guys don’t like the way I’m doing it, you can do this yourself! And another thing, I’m going to wear a president’s mask during this heist, whether you like it or not!” Ollie shouted.
“It’s not a heist—it’s an animal rescue!” Scotty yelled back. “And for all I care, you can wear a pink tutu. Just stay focused!”
A quick knock on the door made everyone freeze. They held their breaths as the door slowly opened.
“Hey kids,” Henrik whispered as he stuck his head in the doorway. The kids let out sighs of relief that it wasn’t Ms. Phipps.
“Hey Mr. Henrik. We were just, uh, just making prank phone calls!” blurted Ollie.
“Wow, Ollie,” Scotty said, “Is that the best you could come up with?”
“You know anyone who picks up another phone in this house can hear your call, right?” Henrik asked.
No one answered.
“Just keep the noise to a minimum. Goodnight, kids,” Henrik said with a wink before leaving.
Zeek stood up. “I am not getting my dessert privileges taken away for this.”
Scotty yanked him back to the floor and continued flipping through the phone book. “Zeek, focus. What is the name of another animal rescue company?”
“Ugh. Fine. Here’s one called Baby Joey’s Animal Rescue,” Zeek replied.
“Guys, maybe we should find another rescue company to call. I feel like Baby Joey sounds like we’re trying to raise money for some poor kid’s heart transplant,” stated Ollie.
Scotty was confused. “What? Ollie, what are you even saying right now? It’s a rescue company, and we obviously can’t let you make any more calls. So, no, we will call this one too!”
“Okayyyyy, but all I’m saying iiiiissss … If some poor kid named Joey ever gets sick, he’ll never be able to raise money on the Internet because we are supporting the company that stole his name. That’s all I’m saying,” Ollie explained.
Zeek shook his head in disbelief. “I often wonder how you made it this far in life.”
Haibu stood to stretch a bit. She walked over and peered through the darkness toward the partially lit wharf across the street. There were huge barges lined in a row, larger than some of the villages near Montooka. She saw bits of water between them and decided to get some air by taking a walk near the vessels. She was feeling nervous and thought the water might calm her down, remind her of home.
“I’m going for a quick walk,” announced Haibu.
“Wait, Haibu, nighttime in New York isn’t the best place for little kids. I’ll come with you,” Scotty offered.
“No, I’ll be fine,” Haibu replied. “I want to be alone for a few minutes. Please.” Haibu snuck down the stairs and headed out across the snow-covered streets toward the wharf.
Lost in thought as she walked along the docks, Haibu tried to make sense of everything that she learned in the past few days. I don’t know what to do. How do I get home? Why isn’t my family looking for me? So many thoughts were racing through Haibu’s mind. She looked up to the sky for answers.
“Please, if anyone can hear me—” Something caught Haibu’s eye. “Sadiee dash one four,” she muttered, as her eyes moved across the front of a ship. “Sadiee dash one four!” she screamed. “Sadiee dash fourteen! That’s it! That’s the boat! That’s my BOAT!” Haibu jumped up and down and screamed at the top of her lungs, “SADIEE DASH FOURTEEN!”
Haibu’s celebration was short-lived, however. She suddenly realized that just because this boat picked her up from a piece of floating ice didn’t mean the crew knew where Montooka was. Haibu sat down on the pier and dangled her feet over the ocean. In the waters below, she imagined a faint image of her father and brother heading out on their fishing expedition. The movement of the water scrambled the image, and then she could see her mother cooking in the kitchen, just as she was when Haibu last saw her.
“I miss you guys,” Haibu whispered.
Another faint image appeared in the water; it was Kanuuk. Haibu cracked a smile. She could see his little face getting bigger by the second.
“Wait. Is that—”
SPLASH!
Suddenly, Kanuux leaped from the ocean, right into Haibu’s lap. Soaking wet and cold, Haibu was showered with kisses from Kanuux.
“Kanuux! I can’t believe you’re here! How did you find me? Do you know where home is?”
Kanuux pulled away and looked at Haibu with his head tilted to the side, as if trying to understand. “Home, Kanuux. Where you found me—do you know where that is?”
“Haibuuuuuu,” Kanuux stuttered.
“Yes! Yes!” Haibu hugged Kanuux, “You can speak! Do you know where home is?”
“Haibuuuuuu,” Kanuux said again as he licked her face.
Even though she didn’t understand much about how her animal communication worked, Haibu guessed that Kanuux’s vocabulary must still be very small.
“Kanuux, you must have followed the boat all the way here! And you’ve been waiting for me this whole time!”
Still licking Haibu’s face, Kanuux made her giggle. “Well, thank you. I won’t ever let us get separated again!” Haibu hugged Kanuux tighter. She didn’t want to let go.
“Haibuuuuuu!” Kanuux called.
Haibu spent nearly an hour cuddling with Kanuux, telling him all about the circus and everything else she had seen. Kanuux made her feel at peace and reminded her of home. She told Kanuux to wait for her to return. She had one more animal to speak with that night. Kanuux watched as Haibu scurried towards the Brooklyn Bridge.
