Dolphins And Saina

Saina wore the swim suit and stood at the edge of the swimming pool but did not dive in water like the other students. She feared the depth of water and felt if she dived she would never come to the surface. The blue world is mysterious and secretive. But her mummy says swimming is a good exercise and got her admitted in the swimming classes. Her swim coach Ms. Paliwal was standing few steps back watching all her students carefully. She found her newest student is afraid of going into the water. She went near her and put her hand on her shoulder. Saina was standing there watching her friends but the moment the hand of assurance fell on her shoulder she looked at her teacher. “What happened dear? Why aren’t you going down in the water?”

Saina murmured “I’m afraid”

“Hmmm! OK. Come we both will dive in the water together. Wait for me. I’m coming” Ms. Paliwal went inside the changing room and came out in her swimming costume. Saina looked at her coach admiringly. Suddenly she felt her Mam looks more like a mermaid. She remembered the Barbie In Mermaid Tale animation movie. Her Mam held her hand and both dived in the pool water. At that moment Saina did not feel afraid a little bit. She tried all the steps for swimming. When she came out of the water after the end of class hour she felt a little more confident. Ms. Paliwal said “Are you still afraid?”

She shook her head in denial and said “No Mam I feel quite confident now”

After that day Saina wasn’t scared in the name of swimming classes and readily went with her mummy. Her swimming courses finished within the scheduled time and she ranked third in the swimming examination.

The winter holidays have just begun and Saina’s father fixed a Goa trip for the family. Her mother packed their bags and baggage and they took the flight to Goa from Delhi Airport. They reached their destination within time and checked in their hotel booked beforehand. The first and second day was reserved for visiting all the places in and around Goa. On the third day Saina and her family went to the famous Calangute beach. They enjoyed the whole day there swimming in the water playing with balls building castle with sand. After returning from Calangute Saina exclaimed “Daddy, the sea beach was just great and the sea food too”

Her father smiled “Yes Goa is famous for sea food dear”

“Daddy I have learnt dolphins live in sea but we didn’t see any dolphins today?”

“Don’t worry dear. We will go to the Agonda beach tomorrow. It is famous for seeing dolphins”

“That’s great” she squealed in joy.       

Early next morning they started for the Agonda beach. Saina was very excited! They reached the beach in time. Many people are eagerly waiting for the dolphins but not a single one could be spotted. Saina pulled her mother’s hand and asked “Where is the dolphins mummy?”

“Have patience dear. They will surely come”

But Saina couldn’t understand for how longer she has to wait. Suddenly someone screamed “Dolphin! Dolphin” They rushed more towards the water to have a good view to them. Saina could not see clearly through the crowd so she tugged her father’s hand. He smiled and took her in his arms. Now she could see the dolphins clearly. “Such a beautiful creature” her mother exclaimed. The dolphins are playing in water jumping high in the air and again coming down and doing many things to entertain people. They watched them for hours then had their lunch in one of the famous restaurant and returned to the hotel. The next day they are going to leave Goa to return to their city.

The sun is setting making the sky vibrant. Dusk will set in after some point in time. Saina and her family are strolling in the beach. After few walks they sat at the beach cafeteria to have a sip of coffee. Saina was watching the sea when all of a sudden she noticed something sitting near the sea beach. She tried to see what it is but couldn’t recognize in the fading out light. At first she thought maybe people are still sitting in the beach but then she felt the creature isn’t any human but something else. Suddenly a thought came in her mind, is it a mermaid? Her heart jumped up in joy. She wished to see it from near so she wished to walk towards it. But at the same time she knew her mummy will scold if she goes near the water without informing her so she said “Mummy can walk on the beach?”

Her mother was talking with one of her friends on phone so she just nodded. Saina walked slowly towards the creature but as dusk has set in the vision was getting blurred. But still she advanced at the direction of it. She found it out at last. And yes, she is a mermaid. Saina admired her and thought she looked like human so can she speak like human too? At that point the mermaid seems to notice her and said “Hello! What is your name dear?”

Saina said “Hello mermaid. My name is Saina. What is your name? And you can speak like us?”

She smiled “Why not dear? We can talk like you”

“We? How many of you live here?”

“We are a many in our mermaid family but we don’t live here, we live under the sea water. I just came here to enjoy the sunset. Now its dusk and I’ll return to my home”

“Oh I would love to visit your place”

”Do you wish to go with me then come along. Wait! Do you know how to swim?”

“Yes, I’ve learnt swimming”

“That’s great. Now come!” and both dived in the sea water. But as she followed the mermaid in the deep water everything became dark, she chocked and then remembered nothing. When she regained her senses she found herself in the shallow water with two dolphins pushing her towards the shore. Two of the coast guards came running in the water to pick her up. Saina saw her mummy and daddy at the sea shore among a crowd. They were searching her madly after she got lost. Both were looking tensed and wiping tears off their eyes. She was taken to a doctor for check up. Doctor asked her what happened and she said everything to him. He said “There’s nothing like mermaid in the real world. It’s just imaginary creature. But you should be thankful to God and the Dolphins that they saved you from drowning”

The next day they got ready to leave Goa. Before leaving Saina asked her parents to take to the beach. There on a rock she wrote in big capital letters THANK YOU DOLPHINS. She was sure Dolphins would surely understand her regards towards them.