Free Kira's Secret by Orysia Dawydiak Page A

trapped and confused as they darted from one side to the other.
    Kira braked with her strong muscular tail to suspend herself alongside the net. The shrill cries she’d heard earlier continued, but she couldn’t see where exactly they came from. She swam next to the net, keeping her distance, and came around the other side.
    Then she saw the source of the distress calls: a sleek grey dolphin, frantically swimming amongst the trapped fish. Kira rushed to the terrified animal and stared at him. His pleading eyes met hers, and she knew she had to do something. She reached out and touched the net, and immediately her hand was repelled. That awful sensation, the rough, sharp nylon threads she hated so much. She couldn’t touch it. Oh, for a pair of gloves, she thought—not that any human gloves would fit her webbed hands now.
    â€œPlease, help me!” the dolphin screamed.
    Kira’s mouth dropped open in shock. She understood him.
    â€œPlease. I’ll drown before they pull me out with the fish. I need air! Pleeeeeeease.”
    Kira remembered her knife. She withdrew it carefully from the sheath, her webbed hands not ideal for such a task. But she had practiced holding it underwater, so she was ready. Her hands trembled as the dolphin continued to squeal and plead for help.
    â€œAll right, all right, I’m moving as fast as I can. Please don’t cry. It hurts my ears,” she said, searching for a good place to start cutting.
    â€œSorry,” he said, and stopped thrashing.
    Kira began sawing at the net, trying not to touch it, but brushing up against it as it swung back and forth, bulging with fish.
    â€œOuch, ooh,” she said as she cut away. It was much tougher than she thought it would be, but she was making progress. A few fish slipped through the first cuts and Kira worried about a mad rush for the opening once they figured it out. But suddenly they swam away from her, then to the left, then up, constantly zigzagging. Her movements seemed to startle them.
    â€œCome closer, dolphin,” she said to the patient animal. “I want to make sure you get out first.”
    â€œDon’t worry, merrow,” he replied. “You know fish aren’t very bright. They’ll stay away from us if they can.”
    A minute later the hole was large enough that the dolphin edged out, and in a flash he disappeared into the darkness of the water.
    â€œYou’re welcome,” Kira muttered. Not a very appreciative creature, she thought as she turned away from the horrid net. She decided she wouldn’t come to the surface anywhere near the large boat. There could be other boats in the area and she didn’t wish to be spotted.
    â€œThank you, merrow,” a voice behind her spoke, and she felt a light tap on her shoulder.
    Kira whirled around, surprised that an entire pod of dolphins had snuck up and now surrounded her. They began to squeak and spin around like a whirlwind.
    â€œYes, many thanks to you, merrow,” a deeper voice spoke and a large, nearly black dolphin floated up next to her. He was as still as Kira except for the slight fluttering of fins and tail. “You rescued my son, and for that I am grateful.”
    â€œUh, you’re welcome,” Kira replied. Talking dolphins, how bizarre and wonderful. But just as strange, she could speak and be understood by a different species, and all underwater. She wished Cody could see and hear this.
    â€œMay I ask,” the dolphin continued, “what a young merrow is doing on her own, so far from kin?”
    Aha, she thought, they were familiar with merrows. “I’m looking for my family,” she answered, her heart racing. “I was lost, a long time ago. I don’t know where to find them.”
    â€œWe may be able to help you,” he replied.
    Kira felt herself bobbing up and down, doing a little seahorse dance. “Really?” she squeaked. The dolphins around her squeaked in