High Above the Little Island: An Interlude
"I thought the story was rubbish. But maybe there's something to it after all." [Episode 12]
You are reading 🏝The Little Island and the Hungry Dog, an illustrated chapter book for kids published in serialized form here on Substack. Previously, Marco shared a fish dinner with Baldy, a seagull, and Gordo, a sea otter with a penchant for snatching surfboards. With this final interlude, we begin the last part of our story. If you’re just joining us, you can quickly catch up here.
A thousand feet below the hot air balloon, three dolphins shot through the gentle gulf waves.
“You see those dolphins, right?” asked the balloon’s pilot as he ignited the burner to give the balloon a little more lift.
“Yep, I’ve been counting — that’s 11 so far,” said his friend, the lone passenger.
“That’s pretty good for a balloon ride this time of year.”
The two men watched the dolphins swim southward.
“Hey, is that a little island over there?” the passenger asked.
“Yeah! Bitty thing isn’t it?”
“Looks like a single tree, some rocks… What’s that blueish-green thing on the north end?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure — want to get a bit closer?”
“Sure.”
The pilot lit the burner again and slowly steered the balloon south, the coast of Florida’s panhandle barely visible to the north.
“Well, I’ll be.”
“What?”
“I know whose surfboard that is.”
“It’s a surfboard?”
“Yeah, a surfboard that was snatched by a sea otter. At least, that’s the story I heard. Supposedly, the creature — whatever it was — took it from a surfer, some rich kid vacationing in Seaside.”
“There’s not much surfing to be had there.”
“Nah, the kid was just messing around, maybe trying to learn, and he and some witnesses said the sea otter came floating up and proceeded to bite the board. Before the kid knew it, the sea otter was taking it out to sea.”
“It can’t be a sea otter, though. They aren’t native to this region.”
“No, they’re not. That’s why I thought the story was rubbish. But maybe there’s something to it after all. I’ll let some folks know where the surfboard ended up. If the family’s still here, they can probably hire someone to boat out and pick it up.”
With that, the pilot lit the burner again and began a slow, meandering trip back to shore.
Not long after, back on the little island, a groggy golden retriever raised his head and yawned. He had been sleeping in the shadows of some rocks. After a few minutes, he levered himself up, stretched, walked in a tight circle and then plopped himself down again with a grunt. Time for yet another nap.
[To be continued…]
Another quality piece. What I also like is that attention to detail in the image of the hot air balloon as though it’s really travelling. Quality.