Page 92 of Perfume Girl
We made our way down a long hallway and the air became even chillier. The air-conditioning was apparently turned up to the max. I realized this was probably why Astor had told me to bring a sweater as I pulled it on.
No, way…
Up ahead the cutest penguin hopped toward us and I stood back to make way for him as he passed. I threw a big smile at the young woman in khakis following him closely, her grin as big as ours. Astor knelt to greet the little guy and the penguin hopped up close to him and then waddled off.
“How’s he doing?” asked Astor.
“Great,” she told him. “Are you looking for Garcia?”
On Astor’s nod she pointed. “In the tank. Ruben goes home today!”
“Good to hear,” Astor said. “I’m glad we got to say goodbye.”
Once we made it through another door, the pungent scent of fresh fish hit me. Beyond I saw a gigantic tank filled with water. Leaning over the tank was a thirty-something man wearing a wetsuit who was feeding an exuberant dolphin one fish at a time from a bucket.
He turned and looked down at us from his elevated height. “Hey, Astor.”
“Hey, Garcia,” he called up. “This is Raquel. She has a thing for dolphins.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place.” Garcia beamed at me.
With my chest tingling with happiness, I approached the tank and rested my palms on the glass. The dolphin circled the entire space with what looked like glee. Being so close to this creature made my heart soar. “What’s his story?” I asked.
“A few weeks ago he was rescued by our team,” Garcia explained. “Ruben suffered some tail damage but we managed to save his fluke.”
“Thank goodness.” I was mesmerized by the breathtaking dolphin, which paused to peer through the glass at me, seemingly just as fascinated.
“We were feeding him every two hours for a while there,” said Garcia. “We nursed him back with nutrition and attention.”
“Will he be released?” I asked.
“Actually, today’s the day,” said Garcia. “His pod’s been spotted off the coast and we are prepping to take him out now.”
“How do you know it’s his pod?” I asked.
“We track the other dolphins in his family,” Garcia explained. “Several are tagged so we can monitor where they go.”
“You saved his life,” I said, amazed at this place and the good they were doing.
“These creatures are saving us,” said Garcia. “Without them we can’t survive. The eco system will be unbalanced.”
“Want to feed him?” asked Astor.
I flashed Garcia a look of hope. “Am I allowed?”
He laughed. “He might splash you.”
“I don’t care.”
Astor directed me where to wash my hands and within minutes I was standing on a ramp and leaning over the tank. The cutest dolphin was making clicking noises as though asking for fish.
“Will he be okay when you set him free?” I turned to ask.
Wiping his hands on a cloth, Garcia smiled. “We’ll track him. Ruben’s pretty resilient.”
“His future is bright because of this place,” said Astor.
I reached into the bucket and threw Ruben another fish. He swallowed it whole and made noises that sounded like chuckles.
