Susie
Part 2
The pool remained still, and Dan continued for twenty minutes before
finally deciding that she wasn't coming back. He went to the spring, and
used the fresh water to wash off his face.
The next few days were quiet and lonely for Dan, and he realized just how
big a difference Susie had made in his life. Fishing was not only more
difficult, he just didn't feel like trying. It just didn't feel right
anymore, since Susie had actually made getting his daily meal enjoyable.
Dan spent a lot of his time moping around, wondering why he had been so
cruel to her, or splashing the water, calling for her. He even tried
sticking his face under the water and calling her name, but it all seemed
to be for nothing. Susie never answered. More than once Dan awoke from a
sound sleep, sure that he heard her, but he never saw her, nor even a
ripple in the pond to indicate that she had been there. He felt she was
gone forever.
An odd rising, then falling, wailing sound woke Dan up one night, and he
looked around in the dark for the source. His eyes, quickly adjusted to the
dim light of the night, quickly picked up a shape on the beach, and he
recognized it as a dolphin.
"Susie?" he whispered, getting up to run over to it. The wail sounded
again, coming right from the dolphin.
As he approached her, he saw a shaft, roughly a foot long with a ragged
end, sticking out of her back. Dan carefully ran his hand down her back,
around the shaft. He soon felt the roughness of the healed shark bite, and
knew it was indeed Susie.
"Oh, Susie! What happened to you? Just a moment, I've got to stoke the
fire. I need light!"
He splashed some water onto her back, and rubbed her lightly. Then he ran
to the dying fire and threw a few dry leaves on it. Blowing gently on it,
he quickly had a flame going, and added to it with more dry leaves, and
then some sticks. Quickly, he ran back to Susie, and examined the shaft in
the flickering light.
It had been a hand-thrown wooden-shafted spear, and the shaft had broken
off. The point penetrated into her skin, he wasn't sure how far. The blood
around the wound had already largely dried, and yet, a small flow
continued. Susie moved in discomfort as he felt the shaft.
"It's ok, Susie. I'm going to help you. I don't know how, but God knows,
I'm going to help you."
Susie's voice was weak, and yet, somehow urgent as she vocalized a question
in reply.
"brr-e-ee?" she asked.
Dan recognized the question that she'd asked before, and it seemed so long
ago. All his anguish and guilt came out, and he wrapped his arms around
her, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.
"Yes, Susie, yes! I love you, and I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I'm
so sorry! Please, you have to get better, I couldn't forgive myself if you
died!"
"ee-eooo," replied Susie, weakly. Her eyes closed, briefly, and then opened
again, and she tried to move, but she was obviously very weak.
"Don't try to move," Dan told her, standing up. He wiped his eyes dry, and
took another look at the spear.
"We have to get that out," he said. "I don't know how deep it is.." He
turned to look Susie in the eye. "It's going to hurt, and it's going to
bleed. Please know that I'm trying to help you. I don't want to hurt you,
but I have to."
Susie replied with a weakly rising whistle. Dan hoped that it was a sign of
understanding. He walked over to the fire and took a stick, about the same
size as the spear, which was burning well on one end. He walked back to
Susie. She didn't move.
"I'm going to try to use this to cauterize the wound, Susie. I'm hoping it
will stop the bleeding, okay?"
Susie only blinked. Her eyes were cloudy with pain, and Dan realized that
he had to act quickly.
"Okay." He went over to the side where the spear was, and wiggled it
slightly to try to determine it's depth and how securely it was lodged.
Susie whistled her rising-falling tone again, weakly.
"Susie, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to hurt you. Please, I'm doing the best I
can."
The spear wasn't as deep as he'd previously feared, just over an inch into
her flesh. He saw that the point was metal, and had short barbs on it. He
also saw that his movement had started the blood flowing more freely. Dan
ran back to his bed and grabbed the remains of his shirt, which he had been
using as a pillow. He soaked the shirt quickly in the spring, and ran back
to Susie.
"I'm trying, Susie, I really am. Please hang on."
Susie uttered a weak moan. Dan rubbed her back lightly.
"I'm going to try to remove the spear now."
He turned to her, and began to tilt the spear to free one of the barbs,
hoping not to make the wound much worse than it was. Susie flinched, and
Dan let go quickly, trying not to drive the spear in.
"Susie, please try to stay still!"
He continued working on the spear, trying not to cause Susie much pain.
Sweat began to bead on his forehead with his concentration, and his heart
pounded as he saw the increased flow of blood.
Finally, he had to spear ready to remove. He glanced at the stick, which
had burned out. It was too late to get another now, he'd have to make do
with a bandage.
"Here goes," he whispered. He pulled the spear free from Susie's side. She
flinched again, and he quickly slammed the shirt against the wound and
folded it into a pad.
The flow of blood was not as much as he'd expected, but he was somewhat
concerned by it anyway. He held the pad firmly against the wound, hoping to
slow or stop the bleeding quickly. He rubbed her side and spoke quietly to
her, and she remained quiet. He thought that she seemed to be in less pain,
though.
After a few minutes, he cautiously removed the shirt. The blood flow had
slowed to a small trickle. Dan washed the shirt in the spring, and lightly
rubbed the cool water all over Susie's body. He almost thought she smiled
at him as he rubbed down her face, and he felt that everything would be all
right. After he rubbed her down so she was sufficiently damp, he returned
his pressure to the wound.
He kept up this pattern for about an hour, until he felt the wound had
stopped bleeding enough to be safe. It was much smaller a wound than he had
thought it would be, but still, he realized that if he hadn't removed the
spear that Susie would likely have died from it.
"Why would anyone try to hurt someone as beautiful as you?" asked Dan.
Susie moved her head up towards him, looking for more personal attention,
and Dan obliged by rubbing her beak and melon. "Susie, I'm sorry I chased
you away, please don't leave me again. I really thought about it, and I
couldn't think of any sensible reason why we can't be friends...and lovers.
I really need you in my life."
Susie replied with a light whistle, and Dan was content. "Let's get you
back into the water, you can't stay on the beach with me."
Susie was soon enough back in the water, and resting in the shallows. The
water and the movement had opened the wound up a bit, but there was very
little new blood, and Dan felt that she would actually be all right now. He
was glad, and he hugged her.
Dan slept in the shallows, as near to Susie as he could, for a short while.
He woke up, and looked over at Susie, still resting. She was sitting on the
bottom, though there was enough water for her to move.
"Susie?" asked Dan. "Are you all right?"
Susie replied with a weak whistle. Dan realized that she would need a few
days to get her strength back, if she moved too much now she might rip the
wound wide open again. He'd have to get food for her.
He gathered up his spear. He considered using the spear that he had pulled
out of Susie, but he couldn't bring himself to touch it. The thought of
using it himself disgusted him. He made a mental note to bury it somewhere
later.
"Susie, stay here and rest. I have to get some food for both of us."
She looked up at him. He saw a depth in her eyes that he hadn't realized
before, and something that implied love and trust, and most of all,
understanding. He shook his head, unsure as to whether what he saw was real
or not. He gave Susie another hug, and a kiss on the melon.
"I'll be back soon," he promised. Then he waded into the water and swam out
of the cave.
He began his fishing with a renewed vigour and purpose that he hadn't
experienced in anything he'd ever really done before. Someone was counting
on him, and he couldn't let her down. He wouldn't let her down.
He reached the best fishing spot, off a point of the island. Susie had
brought him to this spot before, but now he would have to catch the fish
himself. He moved slowly, and smoothly, so as to not alert the fish that
were in the area.
Then he saw one, a big one. It was moving slowly nearby, almost ignoring
him. Dan stopped, watching it. He'd let fish like this escape him in the
past, but not this one. It was a start.
The fish paused, testing the waters. Dan tensed up, readying himself for a
lunge if the fish should take off.
The fish seemed to decide that all was well, and continued meandering
around, looking for food.
Dan struck, jabbing his spear smoothly and skillfully into the water. He
raised it up, hoping beyond hope.
He had it!
Things went well for Dan. He caught three fish in total, then decided he
had better get back and check on Susie.
She was roughly where he had left her, but she had turned around to watch
the mouth of the cave. He felt the sandstorm effect on his body when he
swam in, then heard a slightly weak whistle of greeting.
"Hi Susie," he called, "I have dinner!"
She whistled back, and started to wriggle out of the shallows to swim
towards him.
"Stay there," called Dan, stopping. "Don't hurt yourself, I'll bring it to
you."
She seemed to understand, and stopped moving. Dan swam up to her, and laid
out the fish on the beach. Susie was trying to turn around again, and Dan
picked up the biggest fish and waded into the water in front of her, so she
could see him.
"This one is for you, Susie. It's my turn to give you a present."
He offered it to her, and she opened her mouth. He carefully placed the
fish in her mouth, and she seemed to taste it for a moment before closing
her mouth and swallowing it.
"Good.. good. You're eating! Wait! I'll get you another one."
Dan waded back to the shore and grabbed the other two fish. He brought them
back in front of Susie, and offered her another. She hesitated, then took
it.
"You must really be hungry, Susie. How long since you ate? Do you want the
last one?"
Susie did not open her mouth for the third fish, turning her head away from
it.
"What's wrong, Susie? Are you full?"
Susie replied by lifting her head towards him, a movement Dan had come to
realize meant that she wanted him to pet her, and he happily obliged.
"Susie, I'm so glad you'll be all right."
The wound healed quickly over the next few days, and a week later only a
small scar showed where the spear had penetrated. Dan had also noticed a
small scar where he had struck her with the rock, and it served as a
constant reminder to him. He apologized to Susie for it countless times,
and she always responded by lifting her head, asking him to pet her. She
seemed to forgive him, but Dan was unsure if he'd ever fully forgive
himself.
Most times with her were very happy, however. They quickly got back into
their old routine - him trying to sleep, and her waking him after a few
hours. When awake, they spent most of their time together. Susie
occasionally went off on her own, but she never seemed to be gone for more
than an hour or so. Dan did wonder what she did when he was sleeping, but
he suspected that she tried to amuse herself, and woke him up when she ran
out of ideas.
One day, while they were in the shallows, Susie began trying to arouse him
again. Dan pulled back, and stopped rubbing her body. She looked at him,
curiously, and wriggled towards him again, and again Dan pulled back.
"Beeeeeeee?" asked Susie. She didn't seem to understand.
Dan thought hard, and was silent for several minutes. He wasn't sure if he
was ready for this again. Even though he'd convinced himself that it was
merely an act of love, somehow it still didn't seem right.
"Susie, I don't know if you can understand this, but I'm not ready yet."
She looked at him, and the question in her eyes dissolved. She moved her
flipper lightly up the side of his chest, and then drew it away from his
body. She then moved back so that she was laying nearly face-to-face with
him again, and looked him close up in the eye. From a slight distance she
could look straight at him, but close up she had to use only one eye to
look at him, and she did so now. Dan had realized that whether she used one
eye or two, she was still looking with the same intensity, still trying to
convey to him what she was feeling in her mind and in her heart.
Somehow, looking into her eye, he realized that she understood, and
accepted him. He thought that she was telling him that she would wait as
long as it took for him to be ready. Dan laughed and hugged her, rolling
her over in the shallow water.
She squealed with happy surprise, and started to rub herself against him,
but he drew away.
"No, Susie, I'm not ready."
She stopped, and uttered a lower falling tone whistle, and a few clicks.
She sounded very disappointed.
"I'm sorry, Susie. I have to be ready for this. I wasn't ready last time."
He got off her, and helped her roll upright again. Then he did not touch
her.
"Brr-eee?" asked Susie, quietly.
Dan turned to her, wishing he knew exactly how to tell her why he wasn't
ready, wishing he knew himself. The language Susie understood best was the
language of his touch, and his caresses. Body contact was important to her,
and he could understand how such a custom might lead to frequent sexual
acts. But he'd only really accepted the touching for now, he felt that he
couldn't go further yet... and accept it.
"Susie, yes, you know I love you." He ran his fingers lightly down her
back, away from the rough tissue of the shark bite, down to her flukes,
then back up to the top of her melon again. Then, on impulse, he started to
massage the muscles of her back and tail.
She seemed to love it, and she arched her back into his hands, as he rubbed
and massaged her. Her skin was soft, and her muscles were firm as he
stretched and squeezed them. Susie uttered a few warbling tones of
pleasure, and Dan smiled. He continued massaging her, slowly working his
way down towards her flukes, and across her entire body. When he reached
her flukes, he reached underneath and began to massage her underside. She
rolled over a bit to make it easier for him.
Dan hesitated a moment when she rolled over, then continued massaging,
avoiding her vagina. He looked up at her face, and thought for a moment
there was a playful gleam in her eye, one that said "Next time I'll get
you!"
Dan chuckled. "Maybe next time you will," he replied.
The next few weeks were pretty routine. Susie didn't try to push herself on
him anymore, she just lay next to him in the shallows and cuddled with him,
like she usually did. Dan appreciated that she was so patient, and vowed
silently to himself that he would make her happy one day soon.
Dan gradually felt his acceptance of Susie, and his love for her, growing
stronger and more certain. Her gentle and unconditional acceptance of him
fed the flames of his love. Not once was she ever angry with him, and she
was never away from him for more than a few hours. At the same time Dan
began to subconsciously recognize more and more of Susie's gestures and
movements, and he could almost always tell what was on her mind, or what
she wanted to tell him. He still spoke to her, but he knew that she
understood by his tone, his gestures, and his touch, far more than by the
words he spoke. In much the same way, this was how he understood her.
One night, Dan had a dream. He'd been on the island with Susie for five or
six months, and it caught him off-guard, because he dreamt of Kathy. In the
dream she was married to him, and they were cuddling on the couch in his
living room. They began kissing heavily, and he removed her top. She was
not wearing a bra, and her large breasts fell out, and he kissed and
massaged them. He removed her pants, and kissed her while she removed his
shirt and pants. Then he drew close to her, and wrapped his arms around
her, holding her tight against his body as he kissed her. He lightly ran
his hand down her back, and suddenly felt the rough tissue of Susie's
healed shark bite. It didn't bother him in the dream, that Kathy had
suddenly become Susie, and he continued kissing and rubbing her as he had
been.
Suddenly they were on the beach, and he was making love to her. Susie was
uttering her half-squeal and half-moan of pleasure, and Dan could almost
feel her skin against his.
He felt that he'd finally crossed the boundary in his mind that had held
him back for so long. Finally he felt he could accept her love in all it's
forms... that it didn't matter if Susie was human or dolphin, because they
loved each other.
He woke up, erect and sweating. He knew now that he was ready to be a
complete partner with Susie. But he would wait until later to show her, he
didn't want lust to be his drive as much as his love. He closed his eyes
again, ignoring the throbbing in his loins, and was soon asleep again.
Naturally, he didn't sleep much longer before Susie's impatient chatter
woke him up. He rubbed his eyes and sat up wearily.
"I don't believe it, Susie. You let me sleep in today by what, ten, fifteen
minutes?"
"REEEE-oo!" replied Susie happily. Dan chuckled and went into the water.
She swam up to him, and he hugged her tightly against his body. He gave her
a quick kiss on the end of her beak. Susie backed off, and keeping her head
above the water, spun around a few times, then fell into the water in a
mock swoon. Instantly she was poking her head up again, looking at him for
approval.
"Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh!" she laughed.
Dan chuckled, too. "Where did you learn that one?" he asked. Susie merely
swam back up to him, and wrapped her flippers around his body in another
embrace. Dan hugged her back.
"So, Susie," he began. "You ready for breakfast now?"
Later that night, Dan and Susie lay cuddling in the shallows again. Dan
never tired of her soft, smooth skin against his, and it seemed that she
never tired of his company, either. Dan remembered his dream, and the
memory aroused him slightly. He began massaging Susie's body again. Susie
sighed, happily, and relaxed, and Dan looked up at her face. She looked
content and happy, and Dan wondered how best to communicate his intent.
Slowly, he worked his hands down to her underside, and began massaging her
stomach area. Susie rolled onto her side a bit to give him better access,
and as he rubbed he looked down at her vaginal slit. He watched as the lips
parted slightly, then closed while she waved her tail slowly in the warm
water, and he felt himself becoming more aroused.
He began to work his hands down towards it, slowly, massaging fully along
the way. When he reached it, he began to massage the area around the slit,
staying a few inches back at first, and gradually moving his fingers
closer. Making small circles on her skin, he began to allow himself to
brush past the lips, and slowly, to close in on them. Susie made a small,
happy sounding squeak, and rolled over a little more. In the shallow water,
her vagina was almost fully out of the water, and Dan slowly inserted a
finger, and used his thumb to rub against her clitoris.
Susie closed her eyes and opened her mouth in a silent sigh as Dan felt her
vaginal muscles begin to pull and massage his finger, and he moved it
around inside her, feeling her become more and more lubricated. The area
around her slit took on a bright pinkish color, which spread slowly up her
belly.
He bent down towards her, and began kissing her skin above the slit,
kissing his way down towards it. Lightly at first, he licked the outside of
her pussy lips, tasting the salt from the water and the slight tang of her
juices. He removed his finger and allowed his tongue to probe more deeply
for a few moments, before finding her clitoris with it, and licking and
sucking on it.
Susie was writhing and squealing in pleasure at the treatment, and Dan
placed his finger back inside her pussy, while continuing to tease her
clitoris with his tongue. Suddenly Susie's body stiffened slightly, and Dan
felt her orgasm, a long, powerful contraction of her vaginal muscles
pulling hard at his finger.
He backed off, and slowly removed his finger. Susie was looking at him with
a combination of love and lust in her eyes, and he stood up and removed his
well-worn jeans. He laid down again next to Susie, and looked her in the
eye a moment before kissing her again. Again their tongues met, and Dan
felt more aroused and in love than he could ever remember being. He reached
down, and slowly guided himself into her.
They both reacted with a gasp and a sigh as he entered her, and she began
to work on him. The sensations were even more powerful and felt even better
than before, as her pussy stroked, squeezed and sucked on his penis. He
thrust, slowly, letting her muscles do most of the work.
He wrapped his arms around her body, feeling the love flow between them as
their souls themselves merged into one being. Susie turned a bit, and
wrapped her flippers around him as best she could. She then moved her tail
up between his legs, and wrapped her flukes around one of his feet.
Dan felt enveloped in love and warmth, and he let himself go, coming deep
inside of her. Before he was done he felt her stiffen and contract more
forcefully again, and they rested together. Dan left his penis inside of
her as long as he could, but, finally, he lost his erection and rolled
back, allowing Susie to pull herself upright again. She made her way over
to him, before he had time to sit up and face her, and he stroked her face
in his hands, gazing deeply into her eyes.
"I love you, Susie. I'm going to stay with you forever."
For once, Susie was quiet, apparently content to be held and pet.
Days passed, and Dan and Susie were closer than they had ever been. Dan had
found perfect happiness and all the love he had ever wanted with Susie, and
he felt that she loved him just as much as he loved her. They spent all
their time together, playing games, sharing quiet moments, and making love.
Making love didn't bother Dan anymore, though Susie could be a demanding
partner on occasion. But Dan didn't mind, he loved her so much he was
willing to show her any way he could.
Occasionally Susie would bring him things she had found, too. She seemed to
recognize that they had come from the human world. Over time, Dan collected
a large number of items, including a portable radio (not working, Dan
didn't know if it was just the battery or if the water had destroyed it),
several sets of swim fins, a snorkle, three masks, two watches, a couple
more lighters, a jacknife, and even a few pieces of jewelery. He often used
the fins while playing with Susie, but was uncomfortable with the snorkle
and found the masks awkward. The knife proved very useful for cleaning fish
and cutting spears.
Over time, Dan also got better at making things out of the plants that
populated the island, and spent many evenings building a net out of twisted
vines, to help him catch fish more easily. He also diverted the flow of the
fresh water, and dug a small pit high on the beach to hold the fresh water
before it ran into the sea. Life was good. Simple, fun, and full of love.
One day he and Susie had abandonded their fishing to play tag. Dan found
that Susie was far more maneuverable and quick in the water than he was,
and as such, he was almost always 'it'. But she stayed in a fairly small
area to make it easier for him. It no longer amazed him how quickly she
could pick up on new games. He was used to it, and expected it.
Suddenly, she stopped, and faced away from the beach.
"Susie, what is it?" ased Dan. She swam out a few feet, where the water
dropped deeper, and Dan saw her drop her tail and point her flukes out in
the direction she was facing. She was making the creaking noise, that Dan
knew meant she was examining something.
He looked, but saw nothing above or below the surface. He swam out to her.
Susie turned quickly towards him, and uttered a single high-pitched
whistle. She began pushing him, butting lightly against his chest.
"What is it?" he asked again, urgently. Susie stopped, suddenly, and
chattered at him, even more quickly than usual. Dan saw a look of fear in
her eyes, and a plead that he hurry.
Slightly shaken, Dan turned for the beach and began to swim. Susie came up
behind him and started pushing on his rear. It was only a short distance to
the shore, and with Susie's help he was on it in seconds.
"Susie? ..." Dan stopped when he stood up and looked at the water. Susie
turned too. In the distance Dan saw three triangular dorsal fins slashing
through the surface of the water, heading roughly towards them.
"Sharks!" cried Dan in recognition. Panicked, he ran back to Susie and
leapt on her.
"Come on," he cried, tugging at her. "We have to get you out of the
water!"
Susie struggled against him, whistling and chattering. She was too heavy
for Dan to lift, and he grabbed her flukes and tried dragging her. All he
could think was to get her onto the beach where she would be safe.
The sharks had apparently detected the struggle, and had turned slightly to
be bearing directly towards them. They were fairly close when Susie
suddenly took action. She flicked her tail, causing Dan to lose his grip
and fall backwards into the water. With a quick turn, she charged hard at
Dan, and struck him. He was knocked back several feet, and landed at the
edge of the water. The wind knocked out of him, he lay there trying
desperately to catch his breath, as he watched.
Susie then tried to flee into the ocean, but the sharks were already upon
her, and were circling. Susie turned this way and that, but was unable to
find an opening. Every so often the sharks darted in towards her, and she
snapped at them, driving them back.
Suddenly she charged at one, and struck it in the gills with her beak.
Blood flowed, and the shark swam wobbily off a bit. Susie charged and
struck again, and the shark began to sink, leaving two. The two remaining
sharks quickened their motions, and, excited by the blood, grew more daring
in their attacks.
Susie's movements also became quicker, and more agitated, as the sharks
still blocked her every escape attempt. She charged again, and a second
shark sank, oozing blood from it's broken gills.
The last shark took advantage of Susie's turning away from him, and
attacked as Susie backed off from her charge. It bit down solidly on her
flukes, and Susie screamed a loud, rising whistle. The shark shook
violently, tearing the fins, but released her, finding no meat there.
She tried to manuever for another charge, but the pain and the physical
damage to her tail was making it difficult. Dan saw that he had to help.
Panting, still trying to get his breath back, he grabbed his fishing spear
off the beach, where he had tossed it to play, and leapt into the water.
The shark, sensing a victory, charged again, and latched onto Susie's lower
flank with it's huge jaws. Susie screamed again, with a loud rising then
falling whistle of pain. The shark held on tightly as Susie shook hard,
trying to free herself from it's grip.
Dan reached them quickly, and threw his entire body into driving the spear
into the shark's body. He struck, and the shark released it's hold, and
began thrashing violently. It's teeth slashed Dan's chest and arms, and he
began to bleed, but he held on. Soon the shark's thrashing slowed, then
ceased. Dan sighed, panting, and looked around. The water was cloudy with
blood, and he couldn't see Susie.
"Susie?" he called, splashing the water. She surfaced, weakly, near him,
then almost immediately began to sink again. Dan ran over and grabbed her,
trying to hold her up. She whistled her pain cry again, and Dan looked at
her side. A large chunk of her flesh had been torn off, and she was
bleeding badly. Through the water it was hard to tell, but Dan feared it
was even worse than first glance.
"Susie! Susie!" he cried, hugging her. "I'm so sorry! This is my fault.. I
should have left the water when you told me to! I should have trusted you!"
Susie whistled weakly. Dan moved back, and tried to get a better position
to hold her at the surface.
"Come on," he said. "We have to get back to the cave. We'll be safe
there."
They finally got back into the cave. Dan found all the way that he had to
help Susie stay near the surface, and she seemed to be in a great deal of
pain. He felt extremely guilty, feeling that it was his fault she was hurt.
He was also very afraid that she was going to die.
He led her over to the shallow water, and then faced her. Her eyes were
cloudy with pain, and yet, he saw a spark of love in them, too. He smiled
for a moment, then he ran his eyes down her body and saw the blood.
"Rest for a moment, Susie. I have to block the entrance, so that more
sharks can't get in here."
He took the net he had made, and strung it as best he could across the
mouth of the cave, catching it on rocks on either side. When he was
satisfied that it would stay, he swam quickly back to Susie, laying half in
and half out of the water. She was laying very still.
"Susie!" he yelled, frightened.
She moved slightly, and opened her eyes to look at him. He saw pain, and a
plead for help. The water around her was already red with her blood, and
Dan felt very sick with fear. The wound was very bad, and quite large, and
Susie was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.
Dan looked wildly around the beach, and spied the remains of his shirt,
still slightly stained from the spear, despite his efforts to clean it. He
ran for it, and washed it off in the spring. He then grabbed a few extra
vines, and ran back to Susie.
She whistled weakly in pain as he spread the shirt over her wound, and
began tying it on tightly with the vines.
"Susie, Susie," he kept repeating. "Please be all right. PLEASE! I need
you! I'm sorry!"
She moaned slightly, and opened her eyes. She raised her head, giving him
the 'I need attention' pose, only much more slowly and weakly than usual.
"I have to finish tying this, Susie! Please!"
"err--oo," she replied, very quietly. Again she raised her head, pleading
with him with her eyes.
Dan shook his head, fighting the tears and the anger.
"No," he cried, "no! Susie, no! You're going to be all right!"
She looked at him again, and her eyes were very sad. The cloudiness of her
pain was in the background, and Dan could see right into her soul.
"Brr-eee," she sounded, weakly. 'You love me,' read Dan. A statement, this
time, and not a question.
"Err...err-ooo," she finished. 'I love you.'
In his heart, Dan knew she was dying. He could see that she knew as well.
She was telling him goodbye. His pain surfaced with surprising force, and
he wrapped his arms around her, laying over her. Tears poured from his
eyes, and he called her name over and over.
"Susie, no!" he sobbed. "Please don't leave me! Susie!"
Susie watched him, sadness in her eyes. He felt closer to her than he ever
had, and he heard her thoughts as if they were his own.
'I'm sorry, my time is done. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being
my mate. I loved you, always remember that. I will always be with you, in
your heart.'
Susie closed her eyes one last time. She shuddered slightly, and then
exhaled one final sigh. Her flukes stopped moving, and she was gone.
Dan's sobbing began again, with new force, and he lay with her for a long
time, holding her, and sobbing at his loss.
Dan buried Susie on the opposite beach from the attack, far from the
sharks. In another way it felt like the best place, because Dan and Susie
had spent evenings here, watching the sun set. Dan hadn't been sure, at the
time, if Susie appreciated the sunsets the way he had. Now, however, he was
sure that she had, if only because it was important to him.
It took him a long time, and he cried a lot. But he was eventually
finished. No more would he hear her happy chirp, nor feel the soft warmth
of her caress. He looked up into the sky, tears streaming down his face,
and prayed that she was in a good place.
He looked a long time for a suitable marker, and finally found a large,
flat rock. He struggled to drag it over to the grave, but finally got it
there. Using the knife, he chipped an inscription.
"Susie - My love, I will remember."
He stood by the grave, head down, and cried some more.
He spent the next few days sitting on the top of the cliff, over his cave,
staring out at the sea. Several times, well off in the distance, he noticed
boats speeding around. But he did not care.
Once, he saw a pod of dolphins swimming past the island, a mile or two out.
He watched them, but they did not come towards the island, and he was
saddened.
During this time, Dan did not eat, and he drank very little. His health was
getting poor, but he did not notice, or care to notice. All he cared was
that Susie was gone.
One day he heard an odd chopping noise above the island, and he looked up,
weakly. He watched with amazement as a helicopter approached the island,
and stopped over the beach, lowering itself behind the trees so that Dan
could not see what was happening.
He realized with a start that it was the beach where he had buried Susie,
and he got up, and began a weak, stumbling run towards it, to see what was
happening.
He reached the beach to see the helicopter floating on the quiet sea, on
pontoons, and two men standing in the sand. One was just standing up in
front of the marker when the other noticed Dan, and pointed at him. They
were both wearing t-shirts and new blue-jeans, and the first one was
wearing a cap. The second wore no hat, but had neatly trimmed dark hair.
The man with the cap looked over, and saw Dan as he stepped out onto the
beach. He was long unshaven, and wearing only his badly worn and faded
jeans. He was also rather thin and pale from lack of eating over the last
few days.
"Good lord!" called the man. He ran up to Dan. "Are you alright?"
Dan blinked in confusion. "Wh.. what are you doing here?" he asked. His
voice was dry from lack of food and water.
"We were flying around, out by the mainland there," the man pointed out
over the water, "and my partner was looking around with his binoculars."
The man with the dark hair held up a pair of binoculars. "He saw a couple
of flashes of light from here, and we came to check it out."
He handed a knife to Dan. It was the one he had used to carve the grave
marker. "Found this in the sand. Lucky for you we came, I guess!"
He grew serious for a moment. "But, I'm... sorry about your wife."
"My wife?" asked Dan, absently taking the knife.
"'Susie'," replied the man, pointing at the marker.
"Susie," repeated Dan slowly, turning his head downward and squeezing his
eyes to shut off the tears that were starting to flow already.
"Poor guy," muttered the man with the dark hair. "Least we can do is take
him back to the mainland."
"Yup," replied the man in the cap. "Hey, buddy," he said to Dan. "Come on,
it'll be all right. Get in the helicopter, and we'll take you home."
Dan obediantly waded into the water, and the man with the dark hair helped
him into the helicopter, seating him in the back. The other two men climbed
into the front seats, and closed the door.
They began to warm up the engine, and the machine began to make it's
chopping sounds. The man with the cap turned back.
"What's your name, buddy?" he asked.
Dan paused, thinking slowly, weakly. His thoughts were still muddled with
the pain of his loss.
"My.. name," he replied. It came to him, slowly. "Dan," he stated.
The helicopter lifted off the water, and began to fly across it.
"Well, Dan," said the man with the cap, "my name is Doug, and that there is
Steve."
"How long were you on that island?" asked Steve.
"I.. don't know," replied Dan.
"Well, don't you worry," Doug told him. "We're going to have you back in
civilization in no time!"
Civilization. The word struck a chord in Dan's mind. It echoed in his head,
looking for a place to seat itself, where it's meaning would finally be
recognized.
Finally, it found a place. Civilization. War. Suffering. Violence. Crime.
Civilization. Guilt. Blame. Threats. Punishment. Civilization. Hatred.
Greed. Loneliness.
Dan looked up, suddenly. "NO!" he yelled. Doug and Steve looked back at
him, startled, as he jumped up and grabbed the door handle. Dan could not
go back to a life without love. He would not go back to a world more
interested in making money than having love. He would take his chances in
the ocean, where, when love happens, it's not crushed in pursuit of the
perfect ideal or greatest profit. He opened the door, and jumped.