Mira's Half-Awake Night

Play until dusk

All afternoon, Mira had chased her pod through the sunlit shallows, leaping and clicking and racing the waves. But now the sky was turning the color of ripe peaches, and her flippers felt heavier with every stroke. Even dolphins get tired after a day of play.

A sleepy question

Mira yawned — a small huff of bubbles — and slowed to a gentle glide. She loved the hush of evening settling over the bay, but a worry bubbled up too. If she fell asleep the way she used to as a calf, closing both eyes all at once, who would remind her to rise for a breath of air? A sleeping dolphin still has to breathe.

Half a mind drifts off

So Mira did something wonderfully clever. She let only half of her brain drift off to sleep. Her left eye slipped gently shut, and the left side of her rested, soft and dreaming. But her right eye stayed open, bright and watchful, connected to the half of her brain still wide awake, gliding her steadily through the moonlit water.

Trading the watch

For hours, her awake half kept her good company — steering her gently around sleeping fish, listening to the hush of the reef, and nudging her up to the surface every so often for a breath. Then, quiet as a shifting tide, the two halves traded places. Her right eye closed, her left eye opened, and a fresh half of Mira took over the watch.

A whole, happy morning

By the time the sun rose pink and gold over the bay, both halves of Mira felt wide awake and ready. She burst through the surface in a joyful leap, spray catching the morning light, and her pod rose around her, clicking their hellos. Mira had rested all night long, one half at a time, and never once stopped watching over herself.