Shadow of the Shark Read online

  “Whew. We made it,” said Annie.

  “And lived to tell about it!” Jack said, only half joking.

  “That was great,” said Annie.

  “You are both more brave than my father’s men,” said Heart-of-the-Wind.

  “Not really,” said Jack. But he secretly liked thinking of himself as being braver than an ancient Mayan warrior. “That was an incredible ride.”

  Heart-of-the-Wind paddled the canoe to the edge of the water. “We have arrived,” she said.

  Jack could hear ocean waves and the cries of gulls. The moon was going down. In the east, the sky was growing lighter.

  Heart-of-the-Wind held the canoe steady as Jack and Annie climbed out onto the beach. The Mayan girl followed behind them, and Jack and Annie helped her pull the log canoe out of the pool, onto the cool sand. “The light of the dawn will be bright very soon,” said Heart-of-the-Wind. “What will you do now?”

  “We need to find something we lost,” Annie said. “It’s next to a raft we left on the beach.”

  “At least we hope it is,” said Jack.

  “Where is the raft?” the girl asked.

  “In the cove below the City of Dawn,” said Annie.

  “Follow me,” said Heart-of-the-Wind. “I will take you there.”

  The Mayan girl led Jack and Annie down the misty beach. When they came to a pile of stones jutting into the sea, she stopped. “Stay close to the rocks so the watchmen cannot see us,” she said. “They will not leave their post until the sun rises.”

  With the mist hiding them, Heart-of-the-Wind led Jack and Annie over the rocks. Jack could hear the waves breaking against the shore.

  “And what will you do next?” Annie asked as they followed Heart-of-the-Wind. “Where will you go after we leave you?”

  “I will return to my father,” said the girl. “I will tell him that you have gone home to your own true father and mother.”

  “Will your father be mad?” asked Jack.

  “Perhaps,” said Heart-of-the-Wind. “He believed you were the answer to a question he has been asking for a long time: who will lead our people after he dies?”

  “Okay. But I have a question for him,” said Annie.

  “What is your question?” said Heart-of-the-Wind. She stopped and looked back at Annie.

  “I would like to ask him, ‘Why can’t your daughter, Heart-of-the-Wind, lead your people after you are gone?’ ” said Annie.

  The Mayan girl laughed the biggest laugh she’d laughed all night. “You are crazy,” she said.

  “Seriously! That’s a great question,” said Jack. “Why can’t you be the next Great Sun of Palenque?”

  “Yes!” said Annie. “Where we come from, women are leaders of many countries and cities and states.”

  Heart-of-the-Wind looked shocked. “Truly? But that is not possible here. A female is not allowed to rule the Mayan people. Now you must hurry. Before the sun rises.” She moved away from them, climbing over the rocks again, as if the matter were closed.

  Jack and Annie hurried to keep up with Heart-of-the-Wind. Finally the three of them climbed over a big boulder and dropped down onto the sandy beach of the cove.

  “Listen to me, Heart-of-the-Wind,” said Annie. “You’re as brave as any warrior—braver, really. You don’t seem at all afraid of the forest or the Underworld.”

  “Right, and you know tons more than I do,” said Jack. “You know your people. I’ll bet you know a lot about farming, and you know how to use the Mayan calendar, right?”

  Heart-of-the-Wind nodded. “Yes.”

  “And you know how to talk to jaguars,” said Annie.

  “And you’re not afraid of the Rain God or the ancestor spirits,” said Jack.

  “So why can’t you be a leader?” asked Annie.

  Heart-of-the-Wind turned to look at the sea and slowly shook her head. “No, no, no…it is not possible…never.”

  “Okay. But just answer one question for me,” said Annie. “Would you like to be the Great Sun of Palenque someday? If you could be, would you? Tell the truth.”

  Heart-of-the-Wind looked back at Annie and Jack. She smiled. “Yes. I would like to be the leader of my people.”

  “We know you would take good care of them!” said Annie. “Just like you’ve taken good care of us!”

  “I would be fair and just,” said Heart-of-the-Wind. “I would teach everyone to read our calendar and learn our writing. I would make certain that all of my people had enough fish, beans, and grains to eat.”

  “Heart-of-the-Wind, you must tell that to your father!” said Annie.

  “He would laugh at me,” said Heart-of-the-Wind. “He would never allow a girl to inherit his throne, not even a daughter he loves greatly. That would be against all the customs and traditions of our ancestors.”

  “Isn’t there any way you could change his mind?” said Jack.

  “Only a miracle could change the mind of my father about this,” said Heart-of-the-Wind.

  “Okay,” said Annie. “I have an idea. What if Jack told him?”

  “Me?” Jack said to Annie.

  “Yes!” said Annie. “Heart-of-the-Wind, your father believes Jack came from a faraway place to teach new things to your people. So maybe Jack could teach him that girls can grow up to be great leaders, just like boys.”

  “No, Annie, we can’t go back,” Jack whispered.

  Heart-of-the-Wind looked thoughtful, and then slowly she nodded. “Yes. I believe words from Jack might help my father think a new thought,” she said.

  “Great!” said Annie.

  “Annie, we can’t go back,” Jack said again. “What if he won’t listen to me? What if he’s convinced I was sent here to be the Great Sun of Palenque?”

  “Don’t worry. You and I don’t have to go back,” said Annie. “And her father will listen to you. Because it’s going to seem like a miracle to him.”

  “What?” said Jack. “How?”

  “Give me the bag, please,” said Annie.

  Jack handed her their bag. Annie unzipped it. She reached in and pulled out their cell phone.

  “This will go back with Heart-of-the-Wind,” Annie said to Jack, “with an important message from you.”

  “You are a genius,” Jack said to Annie.

  She smiled. “Thanks. You probably would have come up with the same plan sooner or later.”

  “I don’t think so,” said Jack. “This might be the coolest idea you’ve ever had.”

  Annie turned to Heart-of-the-Wind. “This is for you,” she said, holding out the cell phone. “Watch.” She pressed the “on/off” button and the phone lit up.

  “Oh!” Heart-of-the-Wind jumped back.

  Jack laughed. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you. We’ll use it to send a message from me to your father.”

  Heart-of-the-Wind looked puzzled and curious at the same time. Keeping her distance from the phone, she said, “But what is it? Where did it come from?”

  “It’s a device that…well…someone named Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone,” said Jack. “Telephones used poles and wires. But then people invented digital phones and wireless communications and satellites and—”

  “Stop, Jack,” said Annie, interrupting. “We can’t go into all that now.”

  “Right, just watch,” Jack said to Heart-of-the-Wind.

  “And listen carefully,” Annie said.

  The Mayan girl nodded, still looking puzzled.

  “Ready?” Annie asked Jack.

  “Is it charged enough?” he said.

  “It should be good for today,” said Annie.

  “Great,” said Jack.

  “Think about what you want to say to the Great Sun of Palenque,” said Annie. She tapped the “photos” icon on the screen. Then she held the phone in front of Jack. She tapped the “video camera” icon. “Whenever you’re ready,” she said.

  Jack put down the swim bag, sat on a rock, and thought for a moment. Then he cleared
his throat. “Roll camera,” he said.

  “Right,” said Annie. “Action!” Then she pressed “record.”

  Looking straight at the phone, Jack spoke in a deep, serious voice:

  “Greetings, Great Sun of Palenque. I have a message for you. My sister and I have come from Frog Creek, a land far away, to tell you this: women can lead just as well as men. Many women are leaders in our world. They are presidents, queens, senators, school principals, and military leaders. They are just as smart and brave and responsible as our men. That is why you already have the perfect heir to your throne: your daughter Heart-of-the-Wind. She has wisdom and courage far beyond most people, and she will be a great leader in times of danger and times of peace. Trust this message from a distant time and place. Trust your daughter, Heart-of-the-Wind.”

  Jack stopped speaking and stared intently at the phone.

  “Brilliant!” exclaimed Annie after she clicked off the camera. Then she turned to Heart-of-the-Wind. “How did that sound to you?”

  “It…it was wonderful,” said Heart-of-the-Wind. “I only wish my father could have been here to hear it.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Annie, smiling. “Watch.”

  She held up the cell phone so Heart-of-the-Wind could see the screen, and then she pressed “play.” Jack’s face appeared. “Greetings, Great Sun of Palenque….”

  Heart-of-the-Wind gasped. “Ohhh! How—how does that happen?”

  “It’s too hard to explain,” said Jack.

  “But here’s all you have to do,” Annie said. “After we go, show this to your father and his warriors. You must do this today. Once the sun goes down, the message can never be seen again. Do you understand?”

  “Yes…yes,” the girl said, nodding.

  “Good,” said Annie. “So you press this button…then tap this…then tap that…. Easy, right? Try it.”

  Heart-of-the-Wind cautiously pushed the button and tapped the icons, and Jack’s image appeared again. “Greetings, Great Sun of Palenque….” Heart-of-the-Wind watched Jack deliver his whole message. When the message was over, she kept looking at the screen in speechless wonder.

  “Do you think your father will believe me?” said Jack.

  The girl nodded slowly. “Yes…yes.” She took a deep breath. “He will think this is a great miracle.”

  “Good! Then we leave it with you,” said Annie. “Try not to drop it or get it wet.”

  “Thank you,” Heart-of-the-Wind said, bowing her head.

  “We’d better go now,” said Jack. “Before anyone discovers we’re not in the House of Columns.”

  “Yes. The sun is rising,” Heart-of-the-Wind said. She looked up at the cliff. “The watchmen have left.”

  “Come on, we have to find our raft,” said Jack. As they walked over the cool sand, the mist slowly lifted. In the rosy dawn, a flock of seagulls cried out. They hovered and glided above the waves. The water was sparkling with early light.

  “There’s the raft!” said Annie. She broke into a run. Heart-of-the-Wind and Jack followed close behind her. When she reached the raft, Annie fell to her knees and felt around in the sand. “It’s here, Jack!” she cried, holding up the coin purse. “I found it!”

  “Great!” said Jack. “Is the last gold coin still there?”

  Annie opened the little purse and looked inside. “Yes! Everything is still here—the last coin and all our money! We can go home!” She jumped to her feet.

  Jack sighed with relief, and then turned to Heart-of-the-Wind. “Good luck with the message for your father,” he said.

  The girl pointed to their raft. “Is that how you came here from across the sea?” she asked, looking surprised. “Where is your paddle?”

  Annie laughed. “We don’t have a paddle,” she said. “A shark came after us and—”

  “A shark?” interrupted Heart-of-the-Wind, her eyes wide. “A friendly shark?”

  “I didn’t know there were friendly sharks,” said Jack.

  “Oh, yes. There are many,” said Heart-of-the-Wind.

  Boy, she’s not afraid of anything, thought Jack.

  “Well, this one had big teeth,” said Annie.

  “And it wasn’t smiling,” said Jack.

  “Too bad…,” said Heart-of-the-Wind.

  “Anyway, the shark attacked our paddle,” said Annie. “But we used a special gold coin that our friends gave us, and we made a wish with it, and the raft magically brought us here.”

  The Mayan girl just nodded.

  I guess it takes a lot to shock a girl who talks to jaguars and walking trees, thought Jack.

  “So you will use your last gold coin to help you across the sea?” asked Heart-of-the-Wind.

  “We will,” said Annie.

  “And what will you wish for?” asked the girl.

  “We’ll wish for a safe trip back to Cozumel,” said Jack.

  “A safe and fun trip,” said Annie. “The magic only works if we wish to have a wonderful time—that’s what our friends wanted.”

  Annie reached into the purse, took out the gold coin, and put the purse back in their bag. “You want to watch us leave?” she asked.

  “Oh, yes,” said Heart-of-the-Wind.

  “Let’s get this in the water first,” said Jack. He set their bag on top of the raft. Then he and Annie pushed the raft across the sand into the shallow water. As Heart-of-the-Wind watched from the shore, Jack and Annie climbed aboard.

  By now, the sky was orange and red. The sun was rising in the east. Annie held up the gold coin. It glittered in the dawn light.

  “Wait!” said Heart-of-the-Wind. “May I make the wish for you?”

  “I think we’d better do it ourselves,” said Jack.

  “Oh, she can do it,” said Annie.

  “But—” said Jack.

  “Oh, come on, let her try,” said Annie.

  “Okay,” said Jack, sighing.

  Heart-of-the-Wind waded into the water, and Annie handed her the gold coin. “All you have to do is wish for us to have a safe, fun trip to Cozumel. Then toss the coin into the air. Got it?”

  “Yes,” said the Mayan girl. “I will give you a miracle, like you gave to me.” She tightened her fist around the coin. She whispered something, and then tossed the coin high into the air.

  The gold coin burst into the most radiant display yet—tiny purple, green, blue, and yellow sparks flew into the sky, vanishing into the bright dawn.

  “Thanks! Good—” Before Jack could say bye, the raft shot across the water into the blinding orange-red sunrise.

  “Bye! Bye!” Jack and Annie called.

  Heart-of-the-Wind was laughing and waving.

  “Good luck with your future!” Jack called.

  The girl at the edge of the sea grew smaller as the raft headed east, gliding over the calm water. When they couldn’t see Heart-of-the-Wind anymore, Jack sat back and relaxed. He looked up at the sky. Gulls were circling lazily overhead. The sky was deep blue now.

  “I hope you don’t mind that we had to leave our cell phone behind,” Annie said.

  “Not at all,” said Jack. “I’m not a big cell phone user. We can tell Mom and Dad we’re sorry we left our phone…”

  “By the water,” Annie finished.

  “And that’s the truth,” said Jack, smiling. As he felt sea spray and the warmth of the rising sun on his face, the seagulls began to screech overhead. Jack looked up again: all the gulls were dipping up and down in the sky, shrieking and flapping. “What’s wrong with them?” he asked.

  Annie gasped. “Oh, no! Look!” she cried, pointing behind them.

  “What?” said Jack.

  “That! That!” shouted Annie, waving her finger.

  Jack couldn’t believe his eyes.

  A huge shark fin was moving across the water, heading for their raft.

  “Not again!” Jack cried. “Didn’t Heart-of-the-Wind wish for a safe ride?”

  “I don’t know!” said Annie. “I thought I made it clear!” />
  The shark fin sliced through the sea, following the swiftly moving raft.

  Jack didn’t know what to do. They’d used their last coin! He stared in shock at the huge fin. Though the shark seemed to be keeping its distance, it swam steadily after the raft.

  “Maybe he won’t attack!” said Annie.

  Annie had barely said these words before the shark shot forward, its humongous body rising above the surface of the sea. It was as big as a whale! Its brown skin was speckled with white spots. It had a flattened head with a blunt snout and a huge mouth at least five feet wide!

  The shark dipped under the raft! Then the raft was lifted into the air and held aloft. The raft was sitting on the back of the shark!

  “AHHHH!” screamed Jack and Annie. They grabbed each other and held on tightly. As the raft teetered back and forth on the shark’s back, Jack expected to be hurled into the waves. He closed his eyes, waiting for the worst.

  But nothing bad happened. The raft kept going, and the wind kept blowing.

  “Open your eyes, Jack!” Annie said.

  Jack opened his eyes. Swimming close to the surface of the water, the shark perfectly balanced the raft on its back.

  “What is he doing?” said Jack.

  “I don’t know!” shouted Annie. “Maybe he’s taking us to Cozumel! Maybe that’s what Heart-of-the-Wind wished for!”

  “What?” cried Jack.

  “For a shark to help us have a fun, safe ride!” shouted Annie.

  “That’s crazy!” cried Jack.

  “It’s wonderful!” said Annie.

  Wonderful? thought Jack. Riding on the back of a monster shark?

  “I’ll bet he’s a friendly shark!” cried Annie. “Look up sharks in the travel guide!”

  “Oh, brother,” said Jack. But as the shark gently carried them across the waves, he reached into the bag and pulled out their travel guide. With the wind whipping the pages, he looked in the index for shark. His eyes caught two words: shark, whale.

  “Whale shark! That’s it!” Jack shouted. He found the right page and read aloud:

  The whale shark is the biggest fish in the world. Every year, hundreds of these gigantic creatures migrate to waters off the Yucatán. Whale sharks eat only sea plants and fish and do not harm people. In fact, sometimes these gentle giants allow divers to hitch a ride.