Thursday:
As they settle on the cliff’s edge, they spot a pod of whales breaching in the distance. Their massive tails slap the water with thunderous crashes. Closer to the shore, manta rays glide gracefully through the waves, their dark wings cutting through the blue.
Jas grabs their camera and begins filming. “Look at the rays! And those fish—are they...flying?”
Roman smiles for the first time in days. “Flying fish. I haven’t seen those since I was a kid.”
Above, the sky is filled with birds—gulls, cormorants, and, most strikingly, pelicans. Hundreds of them glide low over the waves, their long beaks skimming the water.
“They’re hunting,” Ivy Mae observes. “The ocean’s alive again.”