The Mother 

Like any mother, she is not ready to return her dead calf to the sea. 

She carries him on her head and pushes him through both sleek calm waters and strong wild waves. Her usual stoic head, now dipped with grief. For weeks she has moved through the water supporting his lifeless body. The weight of his carcass is nothing for her, the weight of her pain is everything. She cries. Her moans are the music of her mourning. The pod surrounds her as a comfort. They know she needs to let go of him now. The decay has set in. She grew him perfectly inside her for 18 months, then tenderly fed him, taught him and loved him. Loved him more than herself. 

With the rest of the family surrounding her, she knows the time has come. She stops swimming and bows her head. Her beloved calf slips off and she watches him sink into the deep darkness. She screams for him but does not swim after him. The sea has him now.

Lesley Johnstone