Once upon a time... a dolphin story.

there was a boy. his home was run by communists, and a war broke out between the opposition party and the communists. his father did not want him to join the army, so at the age of 18 he left his home with a fisherman in the dead of night- just before morning- and sailed away with the others who had run away from the war.

for days they were out on the ocean. they were well stocked with food and water but that quickly disappeared. soon the fishermen who piloted the boat were beginning to get irritated. the sun beat down on them, there was no food, children were crying, the boat was packed like a can of sardines, and they had run out of drugs. the boy thought "how are we supposed to find refuge if the fishermen dont steer the boat? just because they ran out of drugs and dont have 'a reason to live' doesnt mean they have an excuse to abandon everyone else's lives on this tiny boat..' so the boy took it upon himself to pilot the boat. he asked the fishermen to quickly teach him how to steer, how to tell what direction he's headed, how to use a compass.. things like that. in no time the boy was piloting the boat with no problems. except one; where was land?

one day when he was steering the boat, a pod of dolphins were by the boat. they circled the boat a few times before finally swimming off. the boy thought logically that wherever the dolphins lead the boat to, there would be food... because dolphins are animals and they hunt for food. "ok lets follow these dolphins" he thought. so he followed them. little did he know that these dolphins would lead him and the boat people back to land, safe and sound.

by evening he had reached the beaches of malaysia, and the dolphins -who had lead him and the people to safety- swam back to their home in the ocean. the boy eventually grew older, moved to canada, had children of his own, and continued to live a life free of worries, but he would never forget the day his life was saved by dolphins.

who was this boy? this boy was my dad. that day when he left his home in vietnam, he started a new life; he became a sailor, saved his people... and then when the time came to start a family, he had me. "his daughter who came to be because the dolphins saved him."

Thats why my mom calls me her little mermaid. or "sea maiden."

this is one of the stories i will tell my theoretical children and grandchildren, and i will teach them to have respect for the dolphins and the ocean  :)