A Brighter Tomorrow: My Journey with Julie

I decide the best way to make Julie feel better is to bring her attention back to the beach cleanup. The litter is a problem I know we can help solve, while Julie’s problems with Tracy feel bigger and deeper than anything I can help fix. I suggest we make it fun and turn it into a treasure hunt. We can see who can find the coolest treasure.

Julie perks up at my suggestion, and her energy seems renewed as we sift through the garbage. In between picking up pop-tops, cigarette butts, and fishing bobbins, we find some smooth pebbles, a crab claw, and a few pieces of polished beach glass. Julie picks up a piece of periwinkle, and I find a rainbow-colored shimmery abalone shell that I took in my pocket for safekeeping. After about an hour, I hear a squeak. I asked Julie what that was, but we just hear silence. Julie turns back to her bulging garbage bag and ties it closed. I drop my garbage bag and I clamber up onto a rock. From here, I see the entire beach. The water sparkles in the sun, like the blue-green color of my mood ring. I close my eyes and listen hard, but I just hear the lapping of the waves.

Julie calls to me and I return to my garbage bag. Then I hear the noise again. I put my finger to my lips and Julie and I listen. It sounds like a cry or a whimper. We look in every direction. Julie says it’s coming from over there. She points to some rocks at the edge of the water. We run in that direction and sure enough, the crying gets louder. Julie starts to work her way around the rocks, but I hesitate. The wind has picked up and the waves are crashing closer to the shore. I suggest we get back. The tide might come in. Julie says someone could be in trouble. We have to see if they need help.

I look to the nearest beach patrol house and see a woman sitting inside, scanning the beach with a pair of binoculars. I call over to Julie to be careful. I scrape my knees as I join her. We search around frantically, studying the crevices between the rocks. We still hear the whimper. The sound is right under my nose. I squat down and see a jumble of kelp wedged into the space between the rocks. I use a stick to pull loose some of the kelp and catch a glimpse of some wet fur between the leaves.

I call Julie over and show her what I found. I point to the fur and we edge closer and use our gloved hands to pull away at the kelp. Soon, we’ve exposed the creature’s head. It’s a sea otter. I tell her it’s so small. I thought they were bigger. It must be a baby. The creature squeals in the surf and blinks its dark eyes at us, pleading for help.

Julie says the tide is coming in. We have to do something fast. I tell him we can’t leave him. It’s going to take the two of us to untangle the kelp. Otherwise, he could drown. I remember the beach patrol. I jump up and wave both of my hands in the air. The woman perks up and starts to run over. I tell her we found a baby sea otter who needs help. I ask her to call animal rescue. She waves and runs back to the patrol house. Meanwhile, Julie and I set to work trying to free the sea otter from the tangle of kelp.

It’s not long before we realize the situation is worse than we thought. As I pull strands of kelp away from the otter’s midsection, I notice a clear band of plastic wrapped around its neck and another plastic band twisted around its legs. I ask Julie what it is and she shakes her head. It’s too strong for us to break. It’ll have to be cut with a knife.

We continue clearing away the kelp and discover the otter is tangled in plastic rings that once carried a six pack of soda cans. Why is the ranger taking so long to get here? Julie says he can suffocate if he starts to struggle. We need to cut the stuff away before it’s too late.