Miranda’s joys knew no bounds as her dad, an experienced sailor, was home after a long period of ten months. What more, he had promised to take Miranda out on his special boat called Olga. Summer holidays were on and she had completed her home tasks. Miranda was excited because she had been feeling bored sitting at home the whole day. Her mum was of not much help as she had her own office to attend to. She hated leaving her little girl at home, but she did not have any option.

The boat Olga was her dad’s pride and both of them, father and daughter, were mad about the water. Tuesday being a sunny day, Miranda and her dad thought it would be ideal to go on a boat trip. Her dad had lots planned for their special day out. Mum had prepared a picnic basket for them. Wonder what all it had? Well, there was loads – sandwiches, roast chicken, candies, chocolates, chips, pastries and jelly and also a bottle of lemonade for the two of them. It didn’t take Miranda long to pack her bag and she stood waiting by the front door.

“Oh daddy, can we please go now?” Miranda shouted. She was getting very impatient.  It wasn’t long before her dad joined her with everything he needed, towels, life jackets, scissors, screwdrivers, and they set off for the shore.

Once they arrived at the shore, she was even more excited than before. She wanted to jump into Olga, but her dad stopped her. “Sit down dear on the coast as I need to get things ready before setting off,” said her dad. With this he set about putting things in their right places like the picnic basket on top of the counter, his screwdrivers in their proper boxes and so on so that he would know for sure where they were when he needed them.

Eventually he was at the steering wheel and asked his girl to jump over. Miranda thought her dad looked every bit of the sailor he was and very handsome indeed. She did not waste a single second and went and sat on her pink stool. And finally they set off for the mid seas.

A cool breeze was blowing as they set off. Miranda was so happy. Sailing in the midst of the waves always made feel very carefree. It was as if she too was a sailor like her father. This was so special. After sometime, the two of them feasted on the food. And wasn’t it yummy?

It wasn’t long after that, Miranda was sitting with the wind blowing through her plaited hair and staring ahead, when suddenly her smile disappeared. Why? She saw a huge dark figure heading for their boat.

“Dad, what is that!” she screamed at the top of her voice.

“Don’t worry dear, the little whale won’t hurt us,” her dad said.

Miranda wasn’t convinced. The whale was not really as little as she would have liked. And she gripped the edge of the boat tighter. She was feeling very scared indeed.

And then it happened….a very very loud bang and a thud! The black whale had crashed into their Olga, and that too on her side.  “Miranda, leave that railing and come to me,” dad shouted, but it was too late. Miranda had already fallen into the water. Before her dad could give her the life jacket, she sank to the bottom.

She felt cold, could not breathe and started to panic. She knew how to swim but her arms were all over the place – it seemed she was drowning. In spite of being a good swimmer, she just couldn’t manage to move her arms and swim.

And then…….from the midst of nowhere, a colorful little fish swam to her and stopped in front of her. “Don’t be scared Miranda I have come to help you. My name is Misha, and I want to be your friend.” Yes, the fish was talking indeed!

Miranda was so surprised that she stopped feeling nervous. She became very calm. It was like a fairy tale. Misha waved her tiny fin over Miranda’s face and everything became okay. Miranda could breathe again. Misha caught Miranda’s arm and dragged her back to the boat. “Don’t be scared of this whale, his name is Ernie. He’s my friend. It’s just that he is very clumsy,” she told Miranda softly.

As soon as her dad saw her head at the surface, he pulled Miranda upon the boat. He tried to give her a bear hug, but Miranda pulled herself free and looked down into the water to see if Misha was waiting for her. She wasn’t. Miranda was upset again!

Dad dried her with a huge fluffy towel and gave her a big bar of chocolate.  He was so relieved his little girl was fine. Miranda too felt much better. But she was also sad because she never got a chance to thank Misha for saving her life.

Miranda’s dad gave her a glass of lemonade and promised that something like this would never happen again. He even said that if she wouldn’t go out with him on his Olga again, he would understand and not feel dejected.

But Miranda did want to go out on the boat again, Olga that is, and that too very badly. Why? She had just had the most magical experience. She didn’t want to tell her dad about Misha because he would think it was a figment of her imagination and it was just her and Misha’s secret. Only theirs and no one else’s!

“Oh daddy, please do not feel terrible. I am fine and I love you!” Miranda whispered, “I can’t wait for my next adventure.” All Miranda’s dad said in return was, “I love you loads my angel,” holding her very tightly.

That evening when mum returned, Miranda told her all of it other than Misha’s bit. “Didn’t you cry dear?” asked her mum. To this, all Miranda did was beam proudly as if she was the bravest of all!

We know better, don’t we?