Winding Tragedies

It was mild and sunny as my enormous river dolphin family started our day in the Amazon forest playing tag. I love having a big family, but my favorite dolphin to play with is my brother, Fin. For my birthday last week, he brought me a blue-green stone he had found on the side of the river in the grass. It reflected light when I held it in the sunshine. He knew it was my favorite color and would be the perfect gift. I treasured it. If I hadn't been distracted that day, I never would have lost Fin.

Fin, the family baby, had warm brown eyes and an unusually glossy, unscarred pink coat that shimmered when he swam. He was handsome. I loved my brother and was always protective of him. There was danger in the Amazon, and I always had my eye out for him. When Finn was two, I helped him out of a bind with a few older dolphins circling him and calling him a girl because of his pink coat. I had an awareness of danger that I found eerie sometimes. My eyes were piercing jet-black, and unlike my baby brother's, my grey-blue coat had scratches and scars. I was known for my sharp tongue and reckless actions, and everyone knew I had a quick temper, so they bolted when I arrived to protect Fin.

It was fun to be together with so many cousins, and we were minding our own business playing tag when Squid, the runt of the litter, darted by like a lightning bolt. He looked ridiculous when he swam, like a fish out of water, thrusting his body forward without using his tail, then using his fins to flap. As silly as he looked, he was quick. He darted towards me, but I dodged his attempt to tag me with a tiny flick of my tail. Instead, he ran into the path of his mother, Aunt Flow, who was unaware and got tagged. 

Flow was a fast swimmer, too, even though she couldn't see very well. She darted towards Fin but missed him, and he scurried away with a few flaps of his tiny tail against the cool water. He turned sharply and tagged me before I knew it. Squid then shot towards Fin, and the two of them swam happily away from the fear of being caught. 

Laughing, I charged towards them, trying to keep the game going, but they disappeared. Turning around, I tried to tag Rain, my oldest cousin, but she flicked her giant tail, dodged me, and swam away laughing.  

After a few more rounds of playing tag, I saw Squid swimming furiously, alone and looking panicked from a bend in the river.

"What's the matter? Where is Fin?" I chirped.

"Help me, Flicker! Fin's in trouble! Three anacondas are strangling him. Help me!"

My world slowed down around me. All I cared about at that moment was Fin. Panicked, I cried for help, and following Squid, I charged around the river bend towards the anacondas with my mouth wide open. I slammed my snout shut when I reached the anacondas and Fin. The water was no longer brown but a deep crimson the color of blood. Looking around, I realized that I had just bitten an anaconda in half.

Soon enough, the whole pod was bolting across the water with my parents leading the way. My uncles charged toward the vicious anacondas, biting and snapping furiously. My mom led the rescue to Fin, who was on the verge of suffocation. The anacondas slithered away as silently as they had arrived. 

"Fin!" Mom cried, batting her tail furiously until she reached his limp body. "Help me! We need to get him to the shallows!"

The pod did not need another word of encouragement as we gently thrust him out of the water into the fresh amazonian air. To our terror and shock, his blowhole was spitting water as he tried to breathe. He was bloody, pale, and his belly was ripped open. Then the sputtering stopped. His body was lifeless. For once in my life, everything went silent. I watched the actions of my family furiously trying to revive him, but I didn't move. In fact, I could not move. It was as if every muscle in my body had been ripped out. He was gone. My brother was dead.

It was all my fault. I didn't protect Fin. I was in disbelief that I hadn't noticed where my baby brother was. It was too late. I had failed my family.

Fin will forever rest in a spot under the smooth river rocks shaded by an ancient tree. He was buried with his three favorite objects, a smooth river stone, a stick he had carved, and a turtle shell. I couldn't bring myself to give his grave my precious blue-green stone. He was the sweetest dolphin who had ever existed, and I needed something to remember him by. 

As we said our final goodbyes, the anacondas approached us as silently as they had done with Fin. I whipped around, facing two snakes. I snarled and opened my jaws, displaying my row of sharp teeth. The one I bit in half seemed to recognize me. I thought they would be scared, but instead, they were angry. The first one opened his mouth and charged at me. I was ready. Bringing up my tail, I slammed it into the anaconda's face as hard as I could. He fell unconscious onto the river floor. I looked around for the second snake but he was nowhere to be seen. 

Suddenly, I felt searing pain shooting down from my dorsal Fin. The second anaconda was wrapping its body around me. If it did, I would choke to death. But I couldn't move anything but my head. So I did the only thing I could do: I bit its tail. It shrieked an ear-splitting shrill and dropped its guard for a second, letting me wiggle free. Knocking the anaconda with my tail to buy myself some time, I shot out of my battleground and went to help the others. Roaring in a fury, I rammed my snout like a bullet onto the anaconda's chest. During the collision, I felt bones crack in my opponent's body. Our eyes met and it looked at me with wild eyes full of fury, fear, and disbelief. Before I could attack it again, it dropped with a thud onto the river bed, dead. I looked around at my family. They were all watching me, their eyes glued to my face. There was fear and awe in their eyes.

"Uh...You guys okay?" I asked awkwardly. 

"Are you okay?" Mom demanded, making her way through the pod towards me. "You were so brave! And look at your Fin... it's bitten in half."

I turned my head, and the moment I saw my Fin, then I remembered the pain, and I yelped in shock.

"Here...Take it easy. We can go to your den," Mom soothed, ducking under me so she could carry me. I felt myself relax for once in a long while on her back. She swam smoothly to my den and gently propped me down on the soft river-mud nest. Without another word, she began to lick at the wound. 

"Mom," I croaked, turning my head towards her. "I miss Fin."

"We all miss him, Flicker. That's a normal feeling," she answered between licks. 

"I know...but he was like the water of the river to me, you know? He really let me enjoy this world. I was always expecting to find him at his den, safe and sound, after the anaconda attack. I can't help but feel that this was all my fault." 

"Flicker," Mom said sternly, cutting me off. "This wasn't your fault, okay? Stop blaming yourself. You were a great sister, and you always stood up for Fin no matter what he did. Remember the time he stole Squid's pet frog for you? He loved you and trusted you."

"Yeah, but Fin meant the world to me. Since the day he was born, I have never been without him. He was my purpose in life, don't you see? Without him, how will I ever laugh or smile again?" 

"You will,” said Mom, “I promise."