3Here it is: Paradise, Heaven and Utopia! I've been planning this for ages, but I wanted to get Light and Dark done first. Anyway, with this story, you get a bit of insight to one facet of my personality: I LOVE otters!
Oh yeah – quick legend (applicable to the whole story):
"Speaking English"
"Speaking a regional language (other than English)"
Thoughts
Now – on with the story!
Scarlett slipped quietly off the dock and into the river, enjoying the feeling of the water all around her. Her long, wavy red hair floated around her head as she sank down until her chin touched the surface. She reached up onto the dock for her goggles, strapped them on, and dove beneath the surface.
She swam silently downriver, headed for one of her favourite spots: a small grassy island in the middle of a wide spot in the river. She kept alert, always wary – she had learned shortly after moving to Guyana to watch out for anacondas.
Scarlett took one more dive straight to the bottom of the river before she made it to the island. She reached out to touch the sand and the weeds, but instead her fingers brushed something soft... Something alive. She surfaced to take another breath, then quickly dove back down and carefully picked up the living something.
She realized what it was as soon as she brought it above the water: it was a Giant Otter cub. And it was bleeding.
Pulling off her goggles, she set off full speed for the island. She hauled herself onto the grassy shore and laid the cub carefully on her lap to look more closely at it. First she checked its underbelly and determined that it was a he; she proceeded to check his breathing, his heartbeat, and then the wound on his leg.
She caught her breath as she looked at the teeth marks. For confirmation, she compared it to the scar on her foot; unfortunately, she was right: this was an anaconda bite. Without hesitation, she jumped back into the water and swam straight back to the dock behind her house. She pulled her jean shorts and red tank top back on over her bathing suit, ran into the house, lined a laundry basket with a few damp towels, and laid the poor little pup on top of them.
As she opened the front door, Scarlett called, "Gramma, I'm going into the village for a while, okay?"
"Okay!" Came the reply, but Scarlett was already gone.
Scarlett had carried the little otter all the way into the next village over, to where her parents lived. She was taking the pup to see her mother, who had once worked as a veterinarian.
"Mum!" She called as she opened the door to her mother's house. "Mum, I've come early... I have a patient for you!"
"What's going on?" Mrs. Watts asked, coming out of the kitchen. "I thought you weren't coming until three."
Scarlett presented her with the laundry basket, saying, "He was bitten by an anaconda."
The woman gasped to see the state of the cub.
8x8
"So? What's the verdict?" Scarlett asked anxiously.
"Well... He's going to live, but that leg may end up weaker than the others. He's only a few weeks old... His eyes aren't open yet, though, so he can't be over four weeks. He won't make it on his own out there." Her mother informed her.
"Well, of course he won't," Scarlett agreed. "That's why I'm going to raise him myself."
Mrs. Watts looked worried. "Oh, honey, I don't know... I mean, you don't know much about the species..."
"I can do my research. Besides, who else will do it? It's not like there are any animal shelters nearby." Mrs. Watts would have argued further, but Scarlett's face was set. There was no stopping her when she put her mind to something.
Her mother sighed resignedly. "Well, you can't go on lugging that laundry basket around. I'll go get the cat carrier..."
8x8
Scarlett walked up to the desk at the front of the small library. "Excuse me," She asked the librarian, "But could you tell me where I might find books about animals?"
The tall, skinny young man looked up from his book, apparently surprised that there was someone in front of him. He pushed his glasses up his nose and nodded. "Yes... Umm... Of course..." He pulled a large binder toward himself and opened it. After scanning a couple of pages, he pointed toward the far corner of the building. "Should be over there." He informed her.
"Thank you!"
"...Welcome..." He said absently, already having picked his book up again.
Scarlett tugged down from the shelves every book that seemed like it might have information on otters in it and put them down on the table; then she sat down, picked one at random, and was about to open it when she heard a voice behind her.
"I'm afraid that those books don't have much information in them, and most of it is from the eighties – not very accurate."
Scarlett turned around to see a boy about her own age, perhaps slightly older than her, leaning against a bookshelf. He had somewhat dark skin, dark muddy-brown eyes, and shiny, dark brown hair in a rather shaggy cut. He wore a light blue t-shirt and dark blue shorts, and his sandals made a soft clicking noise against the floor as he walked over to the table and sat down beside her, offering his hand, which she shook. "Marco Buckley."
"Scarlett Watts," She replied. "Um – I don't mean to be rude, but Buckley isn't a Guyanese name, is it?"
He shook his head. "It's not rude at all. No, it's not Guyanese – My mum's Brazilian, my dad's American... That's also why I have lighter skin than most of the locals. Nothing on yours, I guess, you're clearly not born to South American parents... But I grew up in Guyana, and I consider myself to be Guyanese."
"Fair enough." She turned back to the books sprawled across the table in front of her. "How did you know these books were no good?"
"I've read every one of them. You're researching otters, aren't you?"
"Yes... You've read them all?"
"Yep. I wanted to learn more about the local species – the Giant Otters, as I'm sure you know. I think by now I know more about them than most of the village... I found some more up-to-date sources."
She looked at him contemplatively. "Then maybe you can help me."
"With what?" He asked curiously, cocking his head.
Starting to stack the books up again, she explained, "Earlier today I was swimming out in the river behind my grandparents' house – I live with them – and I found... I found a Giant Otter cub. There was an anaconda bite in his back leg, so I took him to my mum in the next village over, 'cause she used to be a veterinarian. She said he'll live, but that leg might be weaker than the others. Oh, and he's less than a month old, his eyes aren't open yet. I'm going to raise him."
Marco whistled. "Quite a story. Where is he now? I'd love to see him."
"I left him with my mum while I came to do research. I suppose it's good that you came when you did, because I wouldn't want to raise him with outdated facts for guidelines. So... Um... Will you help me?"
He grinned brightly. "Who could pass up an offer like that?"
8x8
"Uh – I'll go in and get him... Do you want to come in, or...?" Scarlett and Marco stood outside Scarlett's parents' house.
"That's okay, I'll wait here."
Scarlett went in quickly and brought the pup back out in a cat carrier lined with damp towels. "Where should we go for you to look at him?" She asked Marco.
"Uh... I didn't really think about it," He admitted.
"Well then – um – why don't we go back to my grandparents' house?" Scarlett suggested. "I could show you where I found him..."
Marco nodded. "That's a reasonable idea."
As they walked along the main road that led to the next village, Marco started to teach Scarlett about Giant Otters. He told her about their diet, their social structure, their habitat, their growth rate, everything he could think of. Working together, they put together a list of things that Scarlett could use to make raising the cub easier.
They were so absorbed in their conversation that they nearly walked straight past their destination. Scarlett led Marco around behind the house to the wooden deck with its stairs that led right down to the dock. One part of the deck hung out almost to the water, with a railing around it and a bench at the outermost point, a table in the middle. Scarlett put the cat carrier down on the table and sat on the edge of the bench, Marco sitting next to her. She opened the little crate and tugged out the towels, the sleeping pup coming out with them. Marco slid forward on the bench to get closer.
"Oh, wow, this guy is pretty young. No more than two weeks, at a guess." He started to reach forward, then paused and looked at Scarlett. "Do you mind if I-?"
She shook her head. "No, not at all. I trust you."
Marco picked up the pup, holding him carefully. "Good to see the leg's bandaged well... Hmm... Sleepy, isn't he?" Grinning, Marco cradled him. "It's rather cute." He put him back down on the towels. "We ought to let him rest... You said you'd show me where you found him?"
"Oh – yeah, sure..." Scarlett packed the baby otter and his towels back into the crate so that he wouldn't wander away. As she led Marco toward the dock, she said, "Um – I normally swim there, but I guess we could take the canoe-"
"No, I'm up for a swim..."
She cocked her head at him. "Really? I mean, your shorts..."
He shrugged as he pulled his shirt off. "They'll dry."
Scarlett shrugged as well, tugging off her shorts and tank top to reveal her still-slightly-damp bathing suit. "Hey, if you say so." She put on her goggles and dove wordlessly into the river. She waited for him to follow, and as soon as he was in the water, she began to swim toward the island. He kept pace with her, making powerful strokes; it surprised her a little – most people didn't like to swim as fast as she did.
Marco glanced sideways at her. "You don't seem at all – uh – fazed," he remarked awkwardly.
Scarlett had no idea what he was referring to. "...Should I be?"
If she had looked at him, she may have noticed the faint red tinge spreading across his face. "I'm not saying that you should be, it's just – uh, how do I put this – most of the girls I know – they make a big deal of it when I – err," he trailed off, not sure how to phrase his statement.
Finally starting to see what he was getting at, Scarlett laughed. "Take off your shirt? Sorry to disappoint. It might be a nice view, but I'm not one to ogle."
Marco shook his head. "Except that it's not a disappointment at all. More like a breath of fresh air. You're probably the first girl I've met since I turned thirteen or fourteen that didn't... Stare at all."
"Glad to help, then." The island came into view, and she stopped. "I found him somewhere 'round here... He was at the bottom... Yeah, here. I was headed for that island, I love it there... I think the den might've been on the other end, I never really went all the way along..."
They continued toward the little lump of land. "I think I'll go over, then," Marco said as they pulled themselves onto the shore. "There could be other surviving otters." As he walked off, Scarlett sat still a moment. Why hadn't she thought of that?
Shaking her head, she got up to follow him. She had almost reached him when he said, "Uh, never mind, don't come over here, there's- there's nothing interesting-" But it was too late. Scarlett caught her breath as she saw what was on the ground before her.
It was like some kind of horrible massacre. Two full-grown, six-foot-long adults lay on the weeds, along with three three-foot-long juveniles, all covered in anaconda bites and wounds and blood. There was no sign of any more pups.
"I know there were at least three cubs- I know there were, I saw them-" She was cut off by a sob bubbling involuntarily up from her throat.
"They were probably eaten by the anaconda – oh, that sounds so heartless, but Scarlett, there's nothing you would have been able to do – it takes one hell of a snake to defeat an entire clan of Giant Otters, Scarlett – oomph!" The last part was Marco's surprised reaction to her sudden collision with his torso. Her shoulders shook with sobs – this was not the Scarlett he'd seen a minute ago – and he hugged her awkwardly and patted her back. "I'm sorry, Scarlett..."
8x8
Sitting on the deck again, drying in the sun, Scarlett and Marco were once again discussing how to raise the little otter, which was snuggled up in Scarlett's arms, fast asleep. Marco had managed to calm her down after the episode at the island, and now she was her normal self again. She had apologised profusely for her breakdown, but he had insisted that it was a perfectly natural reaction considering what they had seen – she hadn't noticed, but he had shed a few of his own tears.
Scarlett's grandmother poked her head out the back door. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you came home, sweetie, I went to get the groceries, but your mother called to tell me what's going on- oh, hello!" She suddenly became aware of Marco. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met...?"
"Uh, Gramma, this is Marco, Marco, this is my grandmother..." Scarlett introduced.
"Call me Alice, dear," The old woman told him. "Scarlett, I'm just starting supper, would your friend like to stay?"
Scarlett glanced at Marco, and he shrugged. "...Sure," She replied.
Once they were almost dry, Scarlett and Marco put their clothes back on and went inside, carrying the otter cub with them. They were going to make a makeshift bed/cage for him out of an old dog crate. They lined the bottom with more damp towels and draped and old blanket over the top to keep the light out. They placed the pup carefully inside along with a fresh fish that Alice had bought at the market and locked the door; pushing the crate snugly into the corner of Scarlett's bedroom.
Marco sat down in Scarlett's desk chair, and she sat on the bed, looking absently around her room. She had pleasant dark yellow, almost gold walls and white furniture that had blue knobs on all the drawers. Her bedcovers were a soft lavender, and her desk chair was grey. She looked around as if searching for something to say, but found nothing, and instead they sat in silence.
They were soon rescued from the lack of conversation by Scarlett's grandmother calling, "Supper's ready!" They went to wash their hands and joined her at the table.
Alice passed out the roti and poured a drink of fresh juice for each of them. As she sat down, she asked, "So – Marco, is it? – do you live in this village or one of the surrounding ones? I don't believe I've seen you around."
"I live in this village. My parents aren't very social people – they homeschool me and everything. I think they're trying to raise me as a hermit." He grinned. "But ask anyone in town about Marco Buckley, and they'll say, 'Oh, you mean the otter kid.'"
"So you like otters, then?"
"Marco knows more about Giant Otters than anyone in this village AND the surrounding area," Scarlett announced. Marco laughed.
"I don't know about that... Maybe just the village, but..."
"I don't doubt it," Scarlett told him sincerely. "Hey, I was wondering – when and why did you start getting into them?"
"Ah... I think... I think it was when I was seven... Yes, I spotted a family of them playing when I was out on a canoe ride with my godfather. I was fascinated... I had so many questions, but my godfather couldn't answer most of them, so I went to find the answers myself."
"We moved here from Canada when Scarlett was just seven," Her grandmother told him. "How old are you, Marco?"
He looked slightly surprised by the question. "I'm sixteen next month," He answered.
Suddenly changing topic, Scarlett asked, "Gramma, Granddad gets home from his fishing trip the day after tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, he does," Alice replied. "how come?"
"I was just wondering," Scarlett explained, "what he'd think of the otter pup."
8x8
After supper, Scarlett and Marco went back to her bedroom. The cub was now awake and gnawing half-heartedly at his fish. Scarlett kneeled down to look at him through the door of the crate.
"You're going to make this an interesting summer, little one," She said quietly.
Whew, that was longer than I anticipated. Don't be setting standards! Oh, and by the way – guess what? This story has a PLOT! Not just random fluff and/or random fluff disguised as a plot, but an actual plot! I'm so proud of myself, I came up with a plot! A plot full of... Plotty... Plotfullness! (Now that sounds bad, doesn't it? Oh well.)
Please review, I want to know what you think! Oh – also:
IMPORTANT: Should the otter cub's name be Danilo, Donato, or Renato? I think I'm leaning toward Donato, myself, but I need you to help me decide.
Microsuede Mouse.
P.S.- Silencia – and, I guess, anyone else on deviantART – do you think I should post this in the Otter-Club?