In the depths of the giant blue ocean, there were two dolphins that swam together side by side. When they first met, they literally bumped into each other. They raced toward the same big rolling wave from opposite sides, leapt at the same time, collided in mid-air, tumbled, splashed, and squeaked wildly. Both looked embarrassed. Then, they began to circle each other, laughing in dolphin squeaks.
Although no one else knew their proper names, they called each other Noah and Adaline. They loved to jump and play in the waves at Oceanfront Cove, whistling their happiest whistles.
To Noah, the cove felt like a hidden crescent of sea and stone, where the waves lowered their voices and the water churned in slow, thoughtful circles. Foam clung to the black rocks. Seabirds cried overhead, their voices echoing off the natural stone walls. It was beautiful—quiet, but full of power.
One afternoon, the water in the cove grew strangely still. A shadow slid beneath the dolphins. The birds suddenly stopped calling. The water turned cold and began to swirl.
A great blue whale rose from the deep, circling slowly. Noah had a bad feeling but waited to see what he would say. A deep rumble shook the water—once, then again—as the whale drifted closer.
“The two of you never swim apart, do you?” the jealous whale asked. Noah didn’t like the look in his eye. “But everyone swims apart eventually.”
“Leave us alone,” Noah said bravely. For a moment, the whale stared at him with a blank, heavy expression.
“Some creatures forget who the ocean really belongs to,” the whale growled.
The water trembled as the whale opened his giant mouth. The waves drew back as if the whole ocean was holding its breath. Then—WHOOSH!—the whale lunged. Noah darted back, but the whale was too fast.
In a roar of bubbles, Noah was swallowed whole. Darkness surrounded him everywhere.
Noah cried out for Adaline, shocked and afraid. He had to find a way out somehow.
Adaline froze in horror. Noah knew she was far too small to challenge the whale.
The whale’s shadow loomed above her, so she fled to the stone crevices of the cove, the only place he couldn’t reach. Noah knew that Adaline would be so sad, swimming alone in the ocean. He feared she would be bullied by sharks.
Inside the whale’s belly, Noah didn’t know how long he’d been trapped—but it felt like forever. He decided that the only way to escape was to trick the whale into sneezing him out. So, he tickled the whale’s blowholes with his tail. At first, it only rattled the whale.
Then—ACHOO!
Noah flew out in a burst of bubbles and landed back in the open ocean. He was free. Noah searched night and day for Adaline. He feared she might think he had left her. He had felt the danger before the whale struck—and hesitated. What if she had found another dolphin to swim with? What if she no longer loved him?
When he couldn’t find her anywhere, not even in their cove, he sank into the deep water and fell asleep, tossing and turning with worry.
Then, one bright morning, Noah returned to Oceanfront Cove one last time.
At first, he thought he was dreaming when he heard a soft, familiar whistle.
He followed the sound—and there she was. Adaline peeked out from the stone crevices, beyond the reach of the sharks and killer whales.
They gazed at each other, amazed they were both alive.
“I looked everywhere for you,” Noah said breathlessly.
“I wanted to find you,” Adaline whispered. “But the sharks were waiting for me.”
Noah pressed his nose to her. “I thought you’d stopped loving me,” he said.
“Never,” Adaline said. “I hid so I could survive long enough to see you again.”
As they rubbed noses, they remembered the joy of swimming side by side. And from that day on, Noah and Adaline played in Oceanfront Cove and swam together for the rest of their lives as one.
Copyright 2016 Jennifer Waters
LOGLINE
When a jealous whale swallows Noah, a brave young dolphin must find a way back to his beloved friend Adaline—proving that even in the vast ocean, true companionship can survive anything.
PITCH
Two dolphins, Noah and Adaline, are separated when a jealous whale swallows Noah. Noah escapes by tricking the whale into sneezing him out and searches the ocean until he finds Adaline hiding from sharks in the stone crevices of their cove. The two reunite and remain together in the safety of Oceanfront Cove.
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