Saranda clicked on the screen but there was no message. She sighed iwth slight dissapointment as she loved to read about the little fishing community on the outskirt of Jakarta where Tri lived, but she knew that was not always easy for her to get to computer. Looking at the earlier sent images of the island's paradise lost in the lavish green palms she felt sudden surge to be there. She had no idea that soon one of those peaceful islands would be engulfed in terror. Once she would visit Tri, she thought. Once she would come back to Kosovo to visit Grannys grave, once when there would be no more war...
"Saranda, phone, where are you?" Dardon't exciting voice disturbed her thinking.
"Coming," she shouted rushing to living room: "Who is it?" she mimicked at Dardon.
"Find for yourself," he only grimaced at her cheeckily and rushed off. She could stand him less and less and it seemed to her that by growin up they also grew more and more apart. She picked up the receiver: "Hello...Jack!" She gasped without knowing what to tell.
"Just checking in how you going," he paused: "Have you seen Kathy?"
"No, last time in hospital, I reckon she is back home with all her family around her..."
"She is not there any more, I popped in yesterday," he swore quietly, "I reckon patched herself up and back on steet."
"Kathy will be allright," Saranda tried to cheer him up.
"Sure, by the way, today's surf was a real ripper, the waves biggest I 've seen in ages, I thought you
would like to try..."
"Surfing," Saranda gulped: "Never done it in my life, it's starting to be cold again.
"Never cold up there, you should see a bunch of yahoos I had there today," Jack continued: "I do some surfing lessons for pocket money, so I don't need to ask old man for any favours..."
"Hmm," she sighed in the receiver unsure what to say.
"I go, any way, you there sometimes next week, it's top of the wozza, but only early in the morning."
"Okey," she replied quietly.
And she was, the first thing in the morning, next Satruday, excusing herself from home to see Doha urgently due to school assignment.
The water was cold and she shivered in grey stillness around her. The ocean was quiet and all sounds were hushed in this early hours. She started to walk along the water edge not knowing what to do. She forgot to ask him about the place assuming as always their beach. But today it looked different here, somehow ghostly without life.
The fresh wind blew from the ocean swirling mirror like surface and Saranda speeded up in an attempt to warm herself up. Her legs started to ache and she was about to turn back when a grey blob on the shore caught her interest.
It could be a whale, she thought while squirting her eyes to see it better. Closing her distance she recognized a human figure. She speeded up again and approached a middle-aged woman covered in sand trying to dig a hole under trapped dolphin.
Without question Saranda kneeled on other side and with all her might kept digging under this cold silvery still body. Near the exhaustion she supported her head for a while on that slippery back looking straight into deeply sad eye of stranded animal.
It prompted her to dig and push more.
"Push," clenched her teeth the woman opposite and she followed the order as hard as she could. When finally the animal moved slowly in low water, Saranda slipped and fell down into the cold water. In desperate need of rest she barely felt gentle waves washing over her. Saranda turned her head slowly to watch the woman over the waist in the water urging the dolphin to swim away.
Finally she came over and got hold of her: "We did it."
Saranda sighed and struggled in the water to stand up.
"We did it," she shouted again and hugged approaching Saranda, who smiled shyly at her.
"Yes, it's great."
The woman nodded and waved her good bye, starting to jog along the beach in the opposite direction. Saranda stood there for a while, until the dripping clothes made her shiver and she dragged slowly back.
Approaching George's house she noticed his car leaving in a distance. Saranda paused for a moment, looking at her wet sandy hair and clothes. Finally she moved on and rang a bell. When Jack opened the door in utter surprise she threw herself nto his arm with two words: "I saved a dolphin."
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