Tales of tails: The Island (Book 1)

Ch. 4: Ariadne

The girl stays quiet for a while, but then she speaks.

"My name is.... Ariadne." She took a while to say it.

"It's nice to meet you Ariadne, I'm Melody." I say extending my hand and this time she takes it.

"That is a lovely name." Ariadne says with a smile.

"Thanks, no one has ever told me that before." I say putting a strand of hair behind my ear.

Ariadne looks at her foot for a while, and then she slowly looks back at me. "Where did you learn to do all this?" She asks examining what I did.

"My mother is a nurse. She would actually do a better job than me but we were in a hurry."

"Well, thank you for saving me." She says in a low voice.

"No problem, is what anyone would do, but I'm not a professional so I would still go to the doctor."

There is a moment of awkward silence, after all we don't really know each other, which is uncommon here. While we stay quiet, I pretend to be cleaning the kitchen but curiosity is winning.

"So Ariadne," I say carefully. "Are you new here? I haven't seen you before."

She stands up and heads to the window. "I'm actually just visiting for a while."

"Is it your first time here?" I ask surprised, it is uncommon for this to happen. My sudden question surprises Ariadne but she shyly nods. Making my way over to her I take her hand and lead her to the door.

"Where are we going?" She says alarmed.

"Don't worry Ariadne, I'm not going to kidnap you. We would have to stay here for that to happen."

Her muscles relax when I say this. "I'm going to show you around town."

"Really?" She says with a little squeak at the end, and her eyes basically sparkle.

"Yes, now come on." I say locking the door behind us. "Wait here, I just remembered something." Heading back inside, I grab the bucket with shells and the bicycle laying on the patio.

When I come back I find Ariadne sitting on the sand. "Hop on." I say motioning to my bike. "I figured it would be better for you not to put pressure on your foot."

"Right, thank you." She says and hops on.

We have to ride for at least fifteen minutes before arriving to our destination, which gives us time to talk.

"How did you end up with a hook on your foot and tied in a net?"

"Well, I was actually swimming at the beach this morning, when I found a turtle trapped in the net."

"In the water right?"

"Yes, so I tried to free it but got stuck instead, then I made my way to the rocks. I didn't see the hook though, I don't really know how it got there."

"We're you able to free the turtle?"

"Mhm." She says happily.

"Good, then you are going to love this place."

Stopping, we get down and head to our destination.

"What is this place?" Ariel asks raising an eyebrow.

"This is a rescue center for injured sea animals." I say with a big smile.

"Wow" she says amazed. As soon as go in, she turns in a circle and takes in everything. There is something different about her, but I'm not sure what it is. Pushing my thoughts aside, I get Ariadne's attention.

"Come on, I'll show you around."

Our first stop are the Dolphins. Ariadne's eyes sparkle when she sees them and they seem happy to her too.

"They like you." I say with a chuckle.

"How do you know?" She asks still looking at the Dolphins.

"Not completely sure, I guess it's because I know them very well, isn't that right?" I ask the Dolphins and they give me the equivalent to a smile. As she looks at the Dolphins, Ariadne imitates their sound perfectly and laughs every time they respond. Her laugh is so beautiful, if you listen to it you might think it's a melody.

"You have to teach me how to do that." I say watching with amazement.

"Sure thing, it's actually very easy."

Our next stop is the sea turtles. There are a least fifteen turtles, varying in species. While Ariadne looks around, I go search for my friend Alex.

Walking past the door and entering a small room, there are some cabinets and Alex is behind them.

"Hey stranger" Alex says with a smirk when he sees me. "Haven't seen you around for a while."

"I know" I say with a sigh. "I'm sorry Alex."

"Don't worry about it." He gives me a smile showing his perfect teeth. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asks while he organizes some files.

"I met someone who is visiting, so I brought her here."

Alex shakes his head. "That is why you don't have many friends."

"Oh please." I punch him playfully. "This is an amazing place."

"Yeah, well not everyone might find it that interesting."

"By the way, I brought you more shells." I say putting the bucket on the counter.

"Thank you so much, you are the best." Alex says giving me a high five.

A blonde hair peers through the door. "Hey Melody?"

"Yes Ariadne?"

"Have you seen this?" She shows me a necklace made of shells. "It's pretty cool." She smiles.

"I'm glad you like it." Alex chuckles behind me making me look at him and he gives me an innocent look. While I quietly mutter 'show off' and roll my eyes playfully.

"You mean you made it?" Ariadne asks wide eyed and we respond with a nod.

"That is so cool! Do you think you could teach me?"

"Sure Ariadne."

She looks outside at the dark skies. "It's so late! I have to go, my sister will be worried. See you guys." Waving a hand she exits the door.

"Bye Ariadne." Alex and I say at the same time.

"So, what time do you get off work?" I ask Alex. He looks at the clock.

"Right about now, why?"

"I need to buy some groceries."

"It's time for another supermarket adventure!" Alex says fist bumping the air. "Let's get going then."