A Best Friend

• Ava Wells, Grade 6, Rochedale State School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Write Along 2018' competition

We were only a speck. Only a speck in the midst of a seemingly boundless ocean. I rested on the smooth skin of a whale as we dipped in and out of the salty water. A light breeze ruffled my sandy hair, and a soft smile inched into the corners of my mouth. I was lost, lost in the rhythm of the spilling water lapping over my feet. The sky was a canvas, the most beautiful of colours filling its display. “We’re here Blue” I whispered to him. He replied with a gentle but delighted moan. And so there we stopped, admiring the vivid sun as it slowly disappeared behind the horizon.“See you tomorrow” were my last words before the last of the light was gone.
Although the darkness restricted my sight, I trusted Blue to take me home. I trusted Blue with my life. The warmth of the sun was now gone, causing the temperature to drop drastically. My breath became shaky and I began to shiver. I clutched him tighter, hoping it would provide some warmth. I closed my eyes and counted the seconds between each wave. A pattern started to form and once again my mind drifted. When Blue came to a stop I slid off and kissed him on his wet forehead. “Thank you” I then let go and swam the last 30 meters to shore. I was colder than I had ever been before, but it was worth it. Anything was worth it to spend time with Blue.
The next morning before the light of dawn I strolled down the beach, expecting to see Blue waiting for me. To my surprise, he wasn’t there. I paced up and down the shore but couldn’t see any sign that he was there. In truth, the water seemed like it hadn’t even been disturbed. My smile faded quicker than the snuffing out of a candle. My heartbeat began growing faster each second. I tried to tell myself that everything would be alright, but the uneasy feeling in my stomach told me otherwise. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Blue was in trouble.
Panicking and clueless, I scanned the rest of the ocean along with its shoreline. Then I saw it, a few hundred meters ahead something out of place was lying in the sand. When I realised what it was my heart skipped a beat. I sprinted towards it as fast as my legs could carry me. They felt as though they were going to crumble beneath my body, but on I went until I reached the whale.
I collapsed next to Blue, “come on boy, please don’t leave me, not now”. Once the first tear fell the rest came in an unbreakable flow. Blue was beached, and there was nothing I could do about it. He looked at me as if to say, it was a pleasure being your friend. Then his eyes calmly closed for the final time.