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Maria’s hand glided through the warm clear water. Stroke after stroke she moved lazily in the Australian summer. She wasn’t a good swimmer; swimming in the shallow creek brought both fear  and  excitement.  She  didn’t  bother  with  bathers,  she  just threw on a t-shirt and some shorts.

She cracked her neck and fingers and lay back floating on the water.  Closing  her  eyes  she  started  humming,  forgetting  her life, forgetting about her parents arguing, forgetting about her loss and sorrow. Forgetting everything.

Maria’s  heart  skipped  a  beat  when  a  dark  shadow  lurked slowly around her. She stayed on her back not daring to move.

The  possibility  of  sharks  was  high.  Her  heart  stopped.  What was she supposed to do? The shark would either attack or not, she was doomed if it did. Tears rolled down her cheek as she felt something brush against her left shoulder. 

Maria felt herself flying through the water. She gulped for air as she screamed. Falling she grabbed a tuft of grass at the edge of  the  bank.  Maria  heaved  herself  up  and  coughed  out  some water.  Rolling  over  she  peered  into  the  water,  adrenaline pumping her veins.

She nearly kicked herself, a dolphin was grinning  at  her,  its  eyes  sparkling.  A  huge  grin  spread  across her face, she had never seen such a magical creature so close before. 

The  dolphin  echoed  and  splashed  a  huge  gust  of  water  at Maria. Giggling she reached over and patted the slippery latex like surface of its head.  Dolphins were  always  happy;  they  needn’t  worry  about trouble.  Maria  played  with  her  little  friend  for ages until the horizon made a beautiful orange colour. “I have to go now, but I’ll be back tomorrow!” she whispered.

 It appeared as if the dolphin knew what she had said. Maria would wait for another day of play and wonder.  By Emma Parker 7A