I was sleeping peacefully in my room two stories above ground when I was awoken by a strange, but nonetheless familiar, sound. It was the clicking of a dolphin. I’d know that sound anywhere. But it couldn’t be, could it? It wasn’t possible! I jumped out of bed and ran to the window, where sure enough, three dolphins hovered just below it. Yes, they were hovering there, in mid air. Surely I was dreaming…? I slapped myself on the head, just to make sure I wasn’t delusional. Nothing happened, so I ran up and jumped on my bed, landing on my face. Once again, nothing happened. In a last attempt to wake myself up, I ran head first into the wall. The striking pain in my head told me that this was no dream – I was wide awake. I walked over to the window, my hand tightly grasping my forehead, and the dolphins were still there. One of them floated up to the window and looked me straight in the face. Oddly enough, I could sense a message, as though he was transferring it from his brain to mine.
It said, ‘Please stop. You are awake; this is not a dream. I recall you are involved in a program designed to help dolphins. I am forever grateful, and my colleagues and I wish to take you on a journey. Any three places you wish to go, it will be done. Name your three places.’
I didn’t know what to do, so I did the first thing that came to my mind…sort of. I replied through my brain, saying, ‘Well, I’ve always wanted to go to Manhattan in New York.’
‘It is done,' he said, and I climbed on his back.
I loved the feeling of air brush my face as we sailed along. Except for the fact that it was cold, I felt so refreshed and ready to accept the fact that I was awake and riding on the back of a flying dolphin. As we soared to Manhattan, I just happened to look down and notice that I was no longer in my pajamas. I finally decided that I didn’t want to know how I had changed from my comfortable jammies to a T-shirt and jeans because my head was not only jumbled from the dolphins, but also because it still hurt from when I ran into the wall. I began to regret ever doing that.
‘Surely I’m dreaming…?’ I thought to myself.
The rest of the trip was smooth, and took a lot less time that I had anticipated. We were there in about five minutes, when it would normally take a number of hours. As we flew overhead, I noticed confused faces peeking out of cars, taxis and bus windows to watch the three flying dolphins and their rider float above them.
First, the dolphins took me to the Statue of Liberty. They let me stand on the peak of her crown and look across the city. It was a sight I will surely never forget. We weren’t there for long before I was swept away again to a huge theater to watch a special performance of ‘CATS’ which was set up just for me and me alone. I was mesmerized by the show, and when I was done, we were off again. This time, the dolphins took me to the Museum of Natural History. I took a tour and when I was done, the leader dolphin questioned me again.
‘Your first sight is now complete. Where do you wish to go next?’
‘England. Hey, can you travel back in time?’
‘Yes.’
I became ecstatic. ‘I’d like to go to the middle ages. You know, medieval times.’
‘It is done,’ he said, and we flew off again. As we soared over the Atlantic Ocean, he said to me, ‘I should wish to submerge under the ocean surface, if it is okay with you.’
‘Of course. That would be awesome, but you know I can’t breathe under—‘
Before I had time to finish, he splashed into the cold blue ocean. To my great amazement, I was still able to breathe! My eyes quickly searched the sea bottom, looking at everything there was to look at. I thought I almost saw a part of the Titanic! The first time I looked up ahead of us was the last time, too. When I did, I was looking for less than a few seconds before a purple colored vortex opened before us. Blue lightning shot out of it as we were forcefully sucked inside. I had been watching the sea floor and never got the chance to look up and watch as we tore through the freezing ocean. Of course, I had never paid attention to the temperature of the water, due to the fact that I was fascinated with the fact that I was in the ocean and that I was still able to breathe, as though the water I was in was just a mirage.
‘Surely I’m dreaming…?’ The thought didn’t leave my head the whole time we were soaring through the vortex. Inside, it was still purple and kinda swirly, until everything started blending together. A vision of space and the planets rotating backwards around the sun flashed in front of my face. We shot into it and the next thing I knew, we were flying through a golden sky, and I no longer recognized the land I was in. Medieval England. I knew this because just ahead of me, perched on a small hill, was a magnificent castle. A castle such as the one I was seeing could only belong in the middle ages. It was made of gray stone, with various towers and a red flag on top of each one.
First, the dolphins took me to the castle and dropped me off there. Oddly enough, tours were being taken throughout the castle, so I went on one of those. Oh, what I would have given to be able to live in that castle! After that, the dolphins came back and took me to a real joust. They were so much more real than the ones at the Renaissance festival. Immediately as the joust was over, the dolphins returned once again to take me to the mountain just outside of the village. Caved into the side of the mountain was, well, a cave. Very slowly and very cautiously the dolphins took me into the cave. It was a long, dark, narrow passage, but it finally turned into an enormous chamber of sorts. It was laced with rivers of lava, pools of magma, and in the middle, a lake of fire. And, sleeping on the shore of the lake was a huge brown dragon. His snores sounded like earthquakes, and the breaths he let out felt like a steaming hurricane that forced us backwards.
‘I think I’m done in England. Let’s get out of here,' I said.
Unfortunately, the dolphins weren’t the only ones who could hear my thoughts. All of a sudden, the dragon opened one yellow eye, and my face dropped the instant I saw it flood red. The dolphins turned and raced out of the cave, with me hanging on for dear life on the back of the leader. We were being chased, but not by the dragon. Pursuing us was a breath of fire the dragon released behind us. At the mouth of the cave was the purple vortex, sitting in wait to take us back to present day 2009.
‘Okay, no more of that,’ I said.
‘Where is the final place you wish to visit?’ He asked me.
‘Australia,’ I replied.
'It is done.'
Once again, we dove into the ocean. This time, I decided to look ahead more than down. I watched as the water came at us, and parted as the dolphin tore through it. I looked behind to see a streak of tiny bubbles left as the dolphin’s tail sliced the liquid that passed us. When we came back out, I was in another foreign place. It was Australia. I looked all over to see everything there was to seen in this new and strange land. First, we stopped by the Great Barrier Reef. The dolphins submerged under the ocean so I could get a better look.
‘Do not leave my back,’ the dolphin warned. ‘If you do, you won’t be able to breathe.’
I nodded in agreement. My eyes feasted upon all the beautiful colors and fish that the Reef had to offer. There were pinks and greens and yellows and reds and blues and purples and oranges, and more species than could be counted.
‘Surely I’m dreaming…?’
I shook the thought from my head. I knew immediately that this was an experience I would probably never get to enjoy again, so I made every second count. Once we had finished, we flew out of the water and towards the Sydney Opera House. I decided I didn’t want to watch an opera so instead, we just looked around a bit. When I was done there, the dolphins flew me to the Outback. I saw dozens of different animal species there; dingoes, bobcats, parrots, lizards, snakes, kangaroos, and many others. I also saw multiple types of plants and various mountain structures.
When the day began coming to a close, we flew back to my house in America. Once there, I thanked the dolphins for everything they had done for me that day.
‘I had the time of my life, and I’ll never forget you or this day.’
‘Thank you, for doing so much to help our kind. The polluted waters of the Pacific are desperate for your help. And all the creatures of the ocean are grateful to you as well.’
I nodded to him, and he and the other two dolphins turned and flew off. I ran to the window and waved to them as they soared into the sunset. Once they were out of sight, I walked back to my bed and sat down. I tried to remember everything that I had done and seen. When I was done, contemplating everything, I said aloud to myself:
“Surely I was dreaming!”
