Chapter 2: Giving Comfort and Support

Throughout the next few days, Cody has been trying to deal with the fact that his mother is gone, but still feels like he's got no one and that he's almost an orphan, even though one member of his family is still living. He got up one morning and he felt lonesome and got that feeling of being an outcast again. He got outside and saw the sun starting to rise in the water. It was just him by himself and he feels the wind blowing in front of his face and stokes over his fur. While watching the sun go up, Z saw Cody watching the sun going up and realized that he's thinking about his mom.

He walked up to him and said, "Great sunrise, isn't it?"

Cody turned around saw Z standing behind him and smiled a little. He said, "Yeah, it's great, man."

"You know, my dad has passed away when I was pretty much 6 and I never knew about him that much. So I had to be in charge of everything, but it was very frustrating to know that I never had a father figure and it was so hard as a kid to know that you have to grow up a little, but I was still a kid. To me, having my dad not here with me, still to this day, made me miss him more, but I was just like you when I was a kid. Surfing has got me through my past and it brought me to where I am now in this point." said Z.

"Really? I never realized that." said Cody.

"Well, hey. I connect to you quickly and we have the same feeling we have as we were individually."

Cody chuckled softly and realized that he felt a little twinge about what Z said to him. He felt like he totally understood what he said. He looked at him and said, "I'm sorry that you never had a father, man."

Z stared at him and said, "Thanks, kid. I've known you for so long and we have been like father and son for, I think about.... a long time."

"Yeah, that's true."

As the day continued on, Cody went for a little surfing to give himself a little time to catch some waves and escape from everything. Everyone else gathered around to watch Cody surf in North Beach and everyone was very impressed to see something that's amazing. Joe, Rory and some other penguins were watching him tear up the waves and everyone was super-impressed. He paddled back to shore and sees everyone in front of him.

Rory Nubbins was standing in front of Cody and gave him a high-five and exclaimed, "That was EXTREMELY awesome, mate!"

"Thanks, man. Sometimes I can't help myself and wanted to catch a few waves, so." said Cody.

"Yeah, I bet. So I heard you've had a tough 5 weeks, mate. How are you holding up?" Rory asked.

"I'm doing okay, though."

"You know, mate. I've never knew my dad when I was young. So, it was just me, my mum and 4 brothers and 2 sisters. One of my older brothers were man in the house and it became very hard on all of us. Growing up in Bells Beach, surfing has been part of my blood when I was younger. I started doing it when I was pretty much 7 and all I wanted to was to show everyone my surfing skills. Being an Australian and all, I sometimes get a little lonesome at times, but at least you're surrounded by many penguins who love the same thing." said Rory.

"You know, I would've had you as my big brother if I swam all the way from Shiverpool to Australia and that way we'd be mistaken for twins." said Cody.

Rory laughs a little and Cody joined in, too. They looked at each other and he asked, "What are your eyes like?"

"Honestly, mate, I've been hiding them because of my hair since I was about 14 or 13 and it's been hidden. You want to see them?" he said.

"Yeah, man."

Rory sighed nervously, but a little confident and revealed his eyes. He has emerald eyes that's been hidden on his hair for a long time. Cody was surprised about seeing Rory's green eyes and became a little surprised. He asked, "So, these are your eyes?"

"Yep. Those are pretty much it, mate." said Rory.

He stroked his eyes back to his face and and puts his flipper on Cody's shoulder and decided to give him a little hug. He looked at Cody and said, "Take care, mate."

"Thanks, man."

Rory walked away and Cody started to leave until he saw Joe and Lani coming in to see him. Joe exclaimed, "CODY-MAN!! What's up, dude?"

"Not much, man."

"You doing okay?" asked Lani.

"Yeah, I've been doing fine."

"Z is pretty much like a father to me and he's been my only family for several years and we've spent every waking moment together since I was a kid. My parents pretty much gave me up and gave me to him. Growing up, we're always like family, pretty much." said Lani.

"I didn't know your parents gave you up, Lani. I always thought they would live here." said Joe.

"Not really, Joe. Obviously, they thought I would be better off with him. Aside from that, I was glad I spent time with Z."

"You miss your mom, don't you?" asked Joe.

"Yeah, I still miss her."

"All you can do is think about all the times you've had with her and pretty much reminisce every moment you had with her." said Lani.

"You think that'll work?" asked Cody.

"Absoultely."

"That way, when you think of her, you'll realize that she'll be looking down watching over you in heaven." said Joe.

"Thanks, man."

Cody walked back to Z's beach and thought about much of his mom and what they've done together. He suddenly felt this urge that she can't wait to see him again when he's older and passed on. He looked up at the sky and realized that she's looking down on him in heaven.