“Do you think one will show today, Papa?” Lara asked, her blonde streaks whipping in the ocean breeze.

Her father crouched, looked deep into her blue eyes, and gripped her shoulders. “I am sure of it today my little explorer. The food is here, and so the whales will follow.” He swept hair into her bright yellow hood before standing with his binoculars once more. “It’s a matter of patience and respect, Lara. They are creatures of their own destiny, not ours to command. If they choose to trust us, it is a gift.”

Her small hands gripped the steel railing, the red adventure gloves Papa had gifted her warding off the sting of cold metal. Eyes pushing open against the wind’s desire to send her below, she watched intently. A focus copied from the true explorer beside her. One day she would captain her own exploration vessel like her Papa. Together they would venture the seas and complete his research.

Lara’s daydreams paused like crystal droplets in slow motion as the surface bulged then broke. The vast whale breached high alongside their small craft. Bigger than a building, blocking out the low sun, it drew her gaze upward, up and up. Her little boots left the deck as she was hoisted high above by her father to experience the majestic animal as a bird soaring alongside. Spray ran from her small yellow jacket in rivers as the behemoth dropped, crashing its return home.