Dolphin Dreams

A bedtime story for my daughter.

Dolphin Dreams

Daeja and Siri were good friends. They saw each other almost every day at Heartwood Preschool. They played outside together on the playground. They ate lunch together. They played with Pepper the bunny together and fed him carrots.

They sang in music class together and played instruments during the play along songs. They even played make believe together. Sometimes they were the bug squad, taking turns as Lady Bug Girl and DragonFly Girl. Sometimes they were fairies, sharing their talents with each other and flying around in the breeze. But one time, Siri told Daeja she had something new to share with her.

“I have a secret!” she whispered in Daeja’s ear.

“OK. What is it?” Daeja asked.

“I’m a dolphin,” Siri said very seriously.

“But you don’t look like a dolphin,” Daeja replied. “You don’t have a tail or flippers.”

“I know,” Siri told her. “I’m not a dolphin right now. I become a dolphin sometimes when I go to sleep.”

“Oh,” said Daeja, considering what she was hearing. “I see. That sounds like a lot of fun.”

“Do you want me to come and visit you when I am a dolphin?” Siri asked Daeja. Daeja thought about it for a minute.

“Yeah. How do we do that?”

“Well, when you go to sleep at night, you go to the beach and wait on the shore by the ocean. I’ll come near the shore and then you can come and ride on my back.”

“OK,” Daeja said. “Won’t it be cold?”

“That’s why we’ll do it in Hawaii. I’ll meet you at Kiki Cove.”

“Oh, good plan,” Daeja said. Then she added, “I’ll bring a flashlight so you can see me and I can see you. It’ll be like a little light house.”

“Good idea. So, tonight when we are both asleep, meet at Kiki Cove and look for the flashlight,” Siri summed up the plan. “Don’t forget, I’ll be a dolphin.”

“Deal,” said Daeja. “I’m excited.”

That night, both girls had difficulty falling asleep. “Mama,” Daeja said. “I’m going to do something special tonight while I am asleep.”

“Well, going to sleep does sound pretty special,” Daeja’s Mama agreed. “Just remember not to go too far away, because I need you to be back here in the morning to get ready for school tomorrow.”

“OK, mama. I won’t,” Daeja said. “I can’t tell you about it tonight or I don’t think it will come true. But I’ll tell you all about it afterwards,” Daeja explained.

“OK sweet girl,” her Mama said, gently rocking her. “Let your body relax so you can go and play and explore and do all of the things you want to do in your dreams.” And finally, Daeja did.

Meanwhile, at Siri’s house, Siri was finally drifting off to sleep as well. “May you dream with the angels, the dolphins, and any other magical creatures you need in your world tonight my dear girl,” her Mama said, tucking her in.

Suddenly Siri was surrounded by water and she flowed through it with ease just as she did sliding down the slide on the playground. Her body was strong and she could burst through the top of the ocean and breach out into the air in a high arc, diving back into the water with her long dolphin snout first. She twisted and played and loved the way the water felt all around her. She used her echolocation to figure out where the shore was and started swimming towards the shore, every once in awhile popping up to get a big breath of fresh air.

Daeja waited in the sand at the edge of the ocean, her flashlight going back and forth across the gentle waves from the sea. She kept her eyes out for a dolphin that looked like Siri. The air was refreshing but warm enough to be comfortable at the same time, like a loose long sleeved shirt around her body. Daeja scooped up some of the sand in her hands and let it flow through her fingers and back down onto the beach. Suddenly she heard a high pitched sound with lots of whistles and clicks. She shined her flashlight into the waves and saw a dolphin using her tail to push herself part way out of the water. It had to be Siri.

“Siri!” Daeja called. “It’s me, Daeja!”

Siri managed to use her dolphin voice to make out the sounds “Si-Ri! Si-Ri!” and she used her snout to communicate to Daeja that she should come out and join her in the water. Daeja walked out into the water and Siri met her before she was in over her head. Siri offered her back and indicated that Daeja should hop-on. Daeja got on and held on tight to her flippers. Siri swam gently to make sure Daeja felt safe and comfortable. They made a game of hopping through the air and over the archelon turtles that swam just outside of the cove. After all of the excitement, they took a rest and Daeja laid down on Siri’s dolphin back, floating with just her feet and hands dipping in the water. They watched the moon and it’s light reflecting on the water in front of them. Finally it was time to go back to their beds and wake up for the next day.

“I guess I’d better go,” Daeja said, a little sad but excited at the same time.

“Eeek-Eek-Eeek-Eeeeek!” said Siri, which meant “I’ll see you tomorrow at school” in dolphin language.

And so Siri swam back to her bed and got ready to wake up. And Daeja walked back to her bed and got ready to wake up.

The next morning when they saw each other at school they could hardly believe it.

“Did you dream about being a dolphin last night?” Daeja asked.

Siri shook her head yes. “Did you come and ride on my back?” She asked Daeja. Daeja’s eyes got big and she shook her head yes. “Do you want to meet up again tonight?” Siri asked.

“Yeah,” Daeja replied. “This time, I’m going to have a surprise for you!”

“What is it?” Siri asked.

“If I tell you then it won’t be a surprise!” She said with seriousness in her voice.

They agreed to meet at the same time in the same place that night. Once again Siri came in the form of a dolphin and waited for Daeja to come and swim with her and ride on her back. Once again Daeja shined her flashlight on Siri and then they met up in the water. Now that Daeja knew how to hold on she told Siri that she could try doing some more tricks. She did some leaps up into the air, cautiously at first, then getting higher and higher. Finally she was jumping up and doing twists in the air before going back into the ocean.

“This time, I’m going to show you my secret!” Daeja said excitedly. When Siri jumped out of the air, Daeja jumped off of her back and dove into the calm, warm ocean water. It felt like a bath. At first Siri was very worried that Daeja had fallen off by accident. Then she saw. The girl next to her was Daeja, but she was also something more. The bottom of her body was that of a dolphin. Daeja had transformed into a mermaid.

Now it is well known that all mermaids are fluent in both dolphin and human languages, so she was able to communicate equally well in both. Daeja and Siri talked about what they should do with their newfound magical powers. For a while they played with the other sea creatures- the archelons, the dolphins, the seals. They thought the clown fish were especially funny and made them laugh a lot. Before they parted ways that night, they decided that the next night they would invite their parents. They wanted their parents to share in the beauty and wonder of their dreams.

The next day they were both very careful to tell their parents to come and visit them in their dreams that night. They were very specific and told their parents they all had to meet up in Kiki Cove in Kauai’i, and that they had something magical to share with them there.

That night the parents came. They went into the water and listened and played and were amazed to watch their little girls become dolphins and mermaids before their eyes. Siri and Daeja invited the parents to shapeshift and join them as creatures of the sea, but the parents weren’t quite able to do it. Instead, they floated in the beauty of the water and light of the full moon, smiling, enchanted by the dreams of their daughters.

The End