Dolphin Tale 6

Chapter [28]

C h a p t e r   T w e n t y   E i g h t

SEEING DR. CLAY ON THE ground, tears breaking free and streaming down his face, pulled at George Hughes' heartstrings; they were played like a harp, each string plucked to produce a sound that resonated with sadness and bitter regret. The melancholy harmony sent shivers down his spine and made his nerves spiral out of control, his heart twinging in agony at the mere sight. But as the quickly as the sensation had come, it went; he was a government official, and he wasn't supposed to be expressing any emotions at all—it was an expectation to come off as impassive despite how emotional the situation may be. And yet, all the same, he felt a familiar nagging feeling creep up on him, making him question his own actions and reasoning. Perhaps there a possibility that he didn't need to shut Clearwater Marine Aquarium down . . . but even as thoughts on how he could let CMA stay open flooded his mind, he knew, deep down, that he had done the right thing.

"No. . . ."

George's gaze tore away from Dr. Clay's broken figure on the ground, coming to focus on a figure who was walking towards them, their steps slow, weary, and cautious.

"Dad? Are you. . . ?"

It was Hazel.

"Dad, what—" Hazel cut herself off, gazing frantically between her undeniably broken father who was keeled over on the floor, tears streaming rapidly down his face, and George, who was standing over him, trying to keep his face impassive. "What's going on. . . ?"

George reluctantly met Hazel's eyes and noticed how drawn and frail she looked. Her eyes were glazed over with a sheen of tears and her face was ashen, drained of all light and colour. All in all, she looked like the woman from one of Picasso's paintings; one of the ones he painted with a blue palette while he was going through a depressing stage of his life.

"Hazel . . ." George began gently, keeping his eyes trained on her ". . . I'm so sorry, but I have to do it. I have no other choice. It's for everyone's benefit, you know, or I wouldn't do it."

Hazel shook her head, biting her lip as fury took hold of her. "You don't have to do this! You could just pretend that everything is fine!"

George sighed. "That's the thing, Hazel—everything is far from fine! Can't you see that Nicholas is just clinging to life? Do you want him to have a chance of surviving, or would you rather he died suffering?"

Hazel knelt down beside her father and placed a comforting arm around his shoulders. "Dad? What do you say?"

"It's the right thing to do, Hazel," Dr. Clay said, each word—each syllable—sending a sharp quiver of pain through his heart. "We have no other choice; we're running out of resources and energy, Hazel. We just can't keep going on like this."

"So we're simply going to let Clearwater Marine Aquarium crumble to nothingness? We're just going to give up?" Hazel asked, glaring furiously at her father. "Dad, I know it's difficult to keep going right now, but if we give up now, we'll be giving up all we've worked for—we're  giving up on our dreams, Dad, if we do this, and I don't want to do that, you hear me? I do not want to give up!"

"We don't have any choice!" Dr. Clay exclaimed, his voice breaking. He looked up at his daughter imploringly. "If there was an alternative, I wouldn't be doing this, Hazel," he said softly, his gaze wavering as he caught her fiery glare, "I promise."

"Then what do we do?" Hazel asked, her glare faltering as several different emotions began to trickle through her veins—despair, confusion, sadness, and regret.

"You can always talk to your financier," George said softly. "Philip Hordern, I believe."

Dr. Clay sighed, wiping the last few stray tears off of his face. "Oh, I don't even know what to do anymore; everything just feels so hopeless—so pointless. . . ."