Sonia leaned against a weathered railing on the ferry, gazing out at the churning sea. In her hands, she held a pewter urn that contained her mother's ashes. She inhaled deeply, salty air drying her tongue like a blanket of ash. The midday sun reflected off the droplets that clung to the rail, running down like tiny streams, only to be replenished by the spray of the waves crashing against the bow of the ship. People chattered around her, but Katherine was barely aware of them. Her mind drifted to the last conversation she'd had with her mother.
"Mommy, do you think we'll see a whale today?" a little girl asked her mother, who was dressed in a flowy linen shirt and had lips the color of strawberries. The girl wore a polka-dotted dress and a wide-brimmed straw hat, which immediately reminded Sonia of her own childhood.
Sonia had had a similar hat when she was a child, but it was far too big for her. As she galloped around the house, pretending to be a cowboy or a sheriff, the hat would slip down over her eyes, making her hot and sweaty. She'd bump into things as she ran, eventually tripping over her own feet or smacking into a wall or a table, sometimes even into her mother's legs. The little girl's question had brought the memories flooding back. Sonia looked out at the water, the waves rising and falling with the steady rhythm of a heartbeat, and wondered if the little girl would feel the same sense of nostalgia when she looked back on this day.
"Take that thing off," her mother said, exasperated.
"But I'm a cowboy!" young girl protested.
"Cowgirl," her mother corrected her. "And cowgirls don't need to wear boys' hats like this. I'll buy you a much prettier one."
"But I like this one. It was Daddy's," young girl said, clutching the oversized hat to her chest.
"You can keep it as a keepsake, but you can't wear it," her mother said, her voice quiet and strained.
With a quick move, her mother gently lifted the hat from young girl's hands, turned on a heel and tossed it in the kitchen garbage can, her knuckles turning white.
"No!" young girl shouted, jumping up and down.
"It's not appropriate," her mother said, her face suddenly drained of color. "It's just not."
Young girl could feel her world begin to spin and she sat down heavily in the nearest chair. She watched the garbage can as if she were watching a box that held her heart get buried in the ground.
Just then, the little girl in a polka-dotted dress stumbled and fell into the Sonia's leg. The little girl's straw hat fell to the ground, landing at Sonia's feet.
"Oh, I am so sorry!" the girl's mother cried.
Sonia bent down, picked up the hat and handed it to the girl. She gave her a comforting smile.
"Accidents happen," Sonia said. "It's no problem."
She glanced at the garbage can. She did not know why, but the sight of it made her chest ache.
"It's okay," Sonia replied. "Don't worry about it. Just be careful out here."
"I will," the girl said, wiping her nose on her sleeve. Her mother was quick to pull out a tissue and wipe her nose for her.
Sonia looked at the girl, trying to make eye contact. "You know, I used to have a hat just like this one. It was always sliding down over my eyes, so I had to hold it up with one hand." She demonstrated. "It made running around pretty tricky. I kept bumping into things. But you know the trick? The brim should point up like this. It'll stay on your head that way." She set the hat on the girl's head again, angling the brim skyward. "And if you keep the brim out of your eyes, you might see a whale. Keep your eyes on the horizon. The gray whales around here are pretty big, and you'll be able to see their big splashes from miles away. Sometimes they're sneaky, though. They do something called spy hopping, where they just pop their heads out of the water to look around and then dive right back in. So be on the lookout for that, too!"
The girl's eyes grew wide and a smile spread across her face. "I'll keep my eyes peeled! Thank you!"
"You're welcome! You look like a real adventurer, now," Sonia said, smiling. The girl's mother gave a polite nod of thanks.
Sonia looked out at the waves again. She knew adventure could be found in the simplest things. A child's smile. The sight of a whale. The feeling of the wind on your face. It was all an adventure, and all you had to do was keep your eyes open. And maybe hold on to your hat."
They all laughed, and the little girl's face was bright with excitement. She looked out at the waves expectantly, as if a whale would appear any moment. Sonia couldn't help but smile. She loved sharing her passion for the ocean with others, especially children. Seeing the world through a child's eyes was something special.
Just then, a massive splash erupted from the water not far off the starboard side.
"Did you see that?" the little girl exclaimed. "It must be a whale!"
