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"Please stay put, ma'am. The weather forecast says the storm is going to be fairly strong, so it would be safest for you to remain where you are. We're going to send a team to the spot you described right away."
Nanaba was already knee-deep in the water again by the time the words reached her, followed by the steady dial tone that meant the person on the other side had ended the call. Narrowing her eyes, she let her gaze sweep over the horizon, watching the thick, dark clouds drift closer at a surprisingly quick pace. The dispatcher was right; those didn't look like ordinary rain clouds.
She knew it would be wisest to stay at the beach—the waves, while not overly high, were growing restless, and in the distance she could see a few sailboats turning back and heading towards the coast. Everyone, including herself, was aware of just how quickly a storm could roll in and how dangerous it could be out on the open water. But she couldn't just stand by and do nothing. What if the rescue team didn't find the spot she had described? What if they searched in the wrong place?
She dropped her phone into a small waterproof pouch in case she needed it again and pushed it into the pocket of her shorts. Then she started wading into the water again, dragging her paddle board behind her. The stony shore wasn't too far away anyway—she had just come from there.
In one swift movement, she pulled herself onto the board, grabbing the paddle as she stood up and planted both feet on the smooth surface. She didn't waste a second and immediately started paddling, the water gurgling around her as she glided forward.
Nanaba steered to her left, where the sandy beach gave way to brown, rugged rocks against which the waves broke with a loud swoosh. Here, the water was much rougher, especially as the wind started picking up, and she had to concentrate to keep her balance. But she knew she could do it. This way of moving felt second nature to her, having spent almost her entire life paddling across the waters of her hometown. She would be safe.
From a distance, she spotted the now-familiar dark shadow in the water as it thrashed and writhed, always remaining trapped in the same spot. She had recognised it as a dolphin the first time she passed by not too long ago, caught in a fishnet that had become snagged on one of the rocks. Not having her phone on her, she had immediately paddled back to the beach and called marine rescue, who were hopefully going to arrive soon. She didn't know how long the dolphin had already been trapped there, or how badly it was hurt.
Twenty excruciatingly long minutes later, a white motorboat appeared in the distance, unmistakably heading towards where she was waiting. To make sure it wouldn't veer away, she rose from where she had settled on the board and began waving her arms, calling out to them. As it got closer, the rattling of the motor seemed to unsettle the dolphin again, and it grew even more restless.
"It's okay, they're going to help you," Nanaba pleaded, worried the net was going to cut deeper into its skin. "You need to stay calm. Please." At the sound of her voice, the dolphin turned its head towards her, and its fidgeting eased a little. "That's right. No one is going to hurt you. You'll be free in no time, don't worry."
"Are you Nanaba, the one who called earlier?" a voice asked from behind her, cutting through the loud rustling of the wind.
The small boat had now fully approached her, the waves it pushed up making her board rock beneath her. Nanaba turned to the arrivals—a woman and a man—and some of the tension eased from her shoulders. Everything would be all right.
"Yes, that's me. The dolphin that got tangled in the fishing net is right behind me. Its head has been above the surface ever since I found it; I think it's been able to breathe. But it's still very jittery, and it looks like the net cut into its fin."
Nanaba took a deep breath to calm her nerves, relieved when the woman nodded and immediately took off her jacket. "Thank you, that's very useful information. I'm hopeful we'll have our patient freed in no time. I'm Rico Brzenska, the vet, and Mike here is one of our volunteer helpers." Turning to Mike, she added, "While I take a look at the dolphin, would you make sure Nanaba gets safely into the boat?" He nodded silently, and the doctor swung her legs over the edge of the boat before slipping into the water, slowly wading over to the dolphin.
"Here, let me give you a hand." Mike reached out to grab Nanaba's paddle, pulling her closer. When her board was parallel to the boat, she hoisted herself up, then untied the safety line from her ankle and passed it into Mike's waiting hand, who tied it around the boat's cleat.
"Thankfully, the dolphin seems mostly fine," Dr Brzenska said after giving it a brief inspection and returning to the boat. Due to the rising waves and her fairly short height, she was struggling to keep her head above water despite the water only being chest-deep, and she gladly accepted Mike's hand as he helped her back into the boat. "Mike, I'll need your help cutting her out of the net. I'll disinfect her wound once her fin is freed. She's very wriggly, though—I really hope the promised reinforcement arrives soon."
"I can help," Nanaba offered immediately. "I've grown up around here, and I'm a strong swimmer in case things get rougher. I won't drown."
Dr Brzenska and Mike exchanged a quick glance. "That'd be great. We'll take any help we can get, especially with how understaffed we currently are," the doctor said with a nod, taking a few things out of her case. "If the waves get too high, though, I want you to return to the boat. I'm sure you know how quickly a storm can turn bad."
Nanaba nodded dutifully and quickly removed her shirt, dropping it into the boat before jumping in after Dr Brzenska. Almost instantly, she was hit by a wave, causing her to wobble on her feet—they had really gotten very strong in almost no time.
"Stay away from the dolphin's fluke," Mike said, making sure the anchor was keeping the boat safely in place before taking some tools from his bag. "I don't want you to get hurt." Despite the storm sitting on their backs, he seemed very calm, his movements precise, as if he had already planned everything out in his mind. But there was a hint of resolve in his warm, brown eyes that made Nanaba pause, and she reached out to hold his tools while he got into the water, promising to be careful.
Never in her life had she seen a dolphin from this close, let alone touched one. She had watched them from afar during her morning trips out on her paddle board or on her father's motorboat, until he refused to have it repaired and it ended up in the junkyard. The way they glided through the waves, their grey bodies glistening in the sunlight while their cheerful sounds rang through the air—they had always fascinated her deeply.
When Nanaba's hand came into contact with the dolphin's skin for the very first time, she couldn't help but be amazed. It felt as smooth as it looked when she brushed her hand over its back—soft and rubbery, like a wet stone's surface that had spent its entire life being shaped by water. No wonder they glided through the ocean so elegantly; there was practically no friction.
"It feels amazing, doesn't it?" Mike said, watching her with quiet curiosity. His arms were wrapped around the dolphin's fluke, the muscles in his arms tensing whenever it started fidgeting again, thrashing its tail. "They will always be special to me."
"It is," Nanaba whispered, not wanting to take her eyes off the beautiful animal in front of her. How cruel human beings were, causing pain to such innocent and pure beings through their carelessness.
The dolphin's wound was treated quickly and, luckily, wasn't too deep. By the time Dr Brzenska was done, the reinforcements had arrived and two more men jumped into the water. Together, they managed to hold the dolphin still so Mike could cut through the tangled net, the deep crease between his brows showing just how much concentration the task required.
They watched the dolphin take off the moment they had removed the net. To their surprise, it didn't leave right away, coming to the surface again a few metres away and pausing to turn back towards them as if saying goodbye. Nanaba lifted her hand at the animal, smiling when at that very moment, it let out a high whistle. Then it was gone.
For a few moments, none of them wanted to move, their eyes scanning the water in hope of spotting the dolphin once more. Nanaba felt a mix of joy and sadness mingle in her chest, having grown quite fond of the animal in a very short time, but knowing she would probably never see it again.
Then the deep rumble of thunder in the distance reminded them of the approaching storm, and they quickly waded back to their boats, which were already being heavily shaken. The wind had picked up too, Nanaba realised when she hoisted herself into the boat and immediately started shivering. The adrenaline of the situation had made her block out everything else, and she knew they really needed to hurry.
"Mike's going to take you home, or at least somewhere safe if time runs short—I'll go with our two other boys over there," Dr Brzenska said, still in the water and waiting for Mike to hand her her case. "We really appreciate you calling; if it hadn't been for you, we might not have been able to save the dolphin before the storm came in."
Nanaba waved it off with a smile and shook the woman's hand before they went their separate ways. Dr Brzenska was helped into the other boat, and gave them one final wave before they drove off.
"Here, take this. I should've let you use it first, I'm sorry. I didn't think." Mike was wearing his shirt again and handed her his damp towel with an apology expression. Nanaba gladly accepted it, drying her arms and legs before slipping on her shirt as well. "Where can I drop you off?" he asked, shifting to sit at the back of the boat.
"My place isn't far from here, though I wouldn't mind if you took me to any of the nearby piers. There are enough cafés and shops at the beach for me to take cover."
"I'll get you home in time," Mike said with a small shake of his head, bending down and pulling out what looked like his jacket from under the seat. "If it's that way," he gestured with his chin to the left, "we'll be driving away from the storm, do should be fine. Put this on—you're shivering."
"I'm alright," Nanaba weakly protested, but didn't hesitate to slip on the jacket when he dropped it into her lap, pulling the zipper right up to her chin. "Won't you be cold, though?"
"Don't worry, I'm good." He gave her a little smile, quickly breaking eye contact when she returned it, his gaze momentarily fixing on the grey clouds behind them before he fumbled with the engine and it roared to life.
Nanaba had to roll up the sleeves several times to keep them out of the way. At least she was able to pull up her legs and tuck them under the jacket as well, probably making her look like a ridiculous sack of potatoes with a human head on top. But it felt very cosy and warm against the wind, and she pillowed her chin on the soft fabric, letting out a sigh.
She tried to draw Mike into conversation, but it turned out he wasn't the most talkative person, preferring to keep his answers short or ask her questions instead. He wasn't unkind, though—on the contrary. It had been a while since someone had made her feel like every single word she said truly mattered, and she almost felt a little overwhelmed by the way his calm eyes occasionally fixed on her before wandering back to the sea again. But as he genuinely seemed interested in what she was saying, she kept talking, sharing silly stories until the wind was roaring so loudly it was hard to hear each other over the noise.
They fell into a silence then, which wasn't entirely unwelcome after the rather eventful morning Nanaba had just gone through. Her hand gripped the side of the boat, tightening whenever a particularly rough wave rocked them, water sloshing over the edge and into the boat.
Thankfully, the jetty closest to her home came into view soon, and she immediately pointed at it, letting Mike know it wasn't far anymore. The crease between his brows smoothed out a little, having appeared after it had started raining a few minutes ago, and he gave a satisfied nod.
They had just stepped onto the pier and were lifting Nanaba's paddle board out of the water when the sky tore open and it started pouring. Within seconds, they were soaked to the bone, water streaming from their clothes and hair, their wet fingers struggling to maintain their grip on the board.
"Come on, let's hurry! You can stay at my place until the storm is over—the house is right there," Nanaba shouted, heaving her board onto her shoulder.
Mike looked at her, surprised, clearly not having expected the offer. But when thunder pealed nearby, life returned to him, and he gave a brief nod. "I'll bring the boat around and pull it ashore," he said, jumping back into the boat and starting the motor.
Nanaba rushed along the pier and down the footpath, where houses began lining the coast. Reaching her own house at the very end, she set down her board on her front porch before crossing the path and hopping down the stony steps leading to the beach, where Mike had already started dragging the boat up the sand. Together, they secured the boat in no time, shielding their eyes from the heavy rain as they climbed up the stairs again and took shelter under the covered porch.
It had been a while since Nanaba had last brought a visitor home, she realised as she fished out her keys and unlocked the front door with slightly shaky hands. When her father was still alive, he hadn't liked disturbances of any kind, prohibiting her from having people come over ever since she was little, which was why this experience felt very foreign to her. But he wasn't there anymore to forbid it; the house belonged to her now.
Mike followed her into the entryway, kicking off his sandals and apologising for dripping onto the rug. Nanaba waved it off with a smile—"That's what the rug's for, right?"—and realised she had left her own flip-flops at the beach. It didn't really matter, though; they had been a quick purchase from the dollar store for that exact reason. She wrung out her shirt and pulled a crumpled towel from the wardrobe, which she used to dry her feet, then threw it aside into the laundry basket.
"Hold on, I'll bring you a fresh towel in a second."
Mike nodded, telling her to take her time, and stood in the hallway like a literal soaked poodle. Nanaba had to suppress a smile and quickly rushed upstairs, where she went through her entire towel collection to fetch the softest one.
"Relax, why are you so jittery?" she chided herself, opting for the light green one and pulling it out. "He's just a kind stranger you've met barely a few hours ago. No need to get nervous. This is probably the only time your paths will cross, and you'll never see him again."
"I kind of like him, though," another part of her chirped, one she instantly silenced with a shake of her head. The man she had been lost in thought about was waiting for her downstairs, completely soaked and waiting for her to return. She was a terrible person.
Almost stumbling over her house slippers, which she had carelessly left at the entrance of her room, she hurried down the stairs, pushing any confusing thoughts far, far into the back of her mind.
This was not the right time to think about such things.