We were the only passengers Skipper carried on his carrier boat. The vessel pounded across the waves, jarring my teeth and bones. Oh for swimming beneath the waves, the smooth flow through water…
When the islands came into view, they first appeared to be more waves on the horizon. As we approached, the browns and greens of the prostrate vegetation on the uninhabited islands made them distinguishable from waves, as the white sands blended into white foam. I could discern sea lions sleeping on the shores of these islands, secure in their isolation. Some of them were much smaller than the somnolent creatures they lay closest to, and I knew these were the juveniles, lying beside their mothers. Like our kind, the males did not remain long with the mothers and the mothers protected their own.
I thought of Zerafina, who would enjoy a swim with these sea lions, or the dolphins we played with by night. One day, when she was old enough to swim the great distances across oceans, I would take her here. We would swim with dolphins and sea lions, through coral gardens and algal forests. I knew my sisters in the deep would protect her and care for her until I returned, but I missed her still.
I looked out across the waves, which were smaller now that we were inside the Easter Group. The anchorage was in view, with the houses like coloured boxes lined up along the eastern shore. This would be the last time I would travel this way by boat. Our fishing was complete and our fishing for information neared completion, too.
I will be home soon, my Zerafina. I have such stories to tell you, of humans and dolphins, sea lions and stars.