ADVENTURE ON OCRACOKE ISLAND; CHAPTER 14: A SAILOR RETURNS TO THE ISLAND (LAST OF 14 PARTS)

THE STORY SO FAR: When they see another explosion at sea, Delia and Grandpa set out to save a man from the flaming water of a shipwreck -- a man who turns out to be Billy Haskell. But when Grandpa suddenly has flashbacks about the terrible "Mirlo" disaster, Delia fears he will leap into the ocean to help the men he imagines he sees. She tries to stop him, but loses her balance and falls into the water herself.

The last thing Delia remembered was an arm coming toward her in the water. Then everything went dark.

When she woke, it was morning, and the pale, silvery light filtered through the curtains. Now she saw an arm stretched across the quilt that covered her legs. It was Grandpa's arm, the scarred one, and Grandpa himself was sound asleep. He sat in a chair by her bedside, collapsed against the bed with his arm flung out.

Delia raised her head to look around and felt a throb on her face. She touched her forehead and felt a bandage there.

Aunt Hetty and Alex tiptoed into the room.

"Delia," Aunt Hetty said, as she came toward the bed. "Oh, Delia." She stroked Delia's hair, which was tangled and damp.

Grandpa stirred and sat up. He blinked at Delia. "You all right, little gal?" he said.

Delia touched her head again. "Yes, I think so," she said. "I don't really know what happened."

Alex stepped forward. "You saved Billy Haskell's life, that's what happened," he said.

"And nearly lost your own," added Aunt Hetty.

Slowly Delia recalled the night. "Yes, I remember," she said. "Is he all right?"

"He'll be fine," Aunt Hetty said. "They took him to the hospital in Morehead City."

"And a more grateful man I've never seen," said Alex. "He said he plans to come see you, as soon as he gets out."

Delia looked around. "How did I get here?"

Alex said, "You can thank your Grandpa for that. He jumped in and saved you."

"Thank you," Delia said to her Grandpa.

Grandpa shook his head. "It's me should be thankin' you," he said in a low voice. "I think you saved me first. And in more ways than one." He looked puzzled. "But what made you go down to the water in the first place?"

"I had to do it," Delia said. "Mama told me to."

Grandpa nodded, as if he knew what she meant.

Then Aunt Hetty said gently, "Maybe she did, honey."

"I know what made you do it," Grandpa said. "It's in your blood. It was in your mama's blood, too." He stroked her closed hand. "You're a mighty brave gal, I'll give you that."

Delia opened her hand to take his and felt something small pressed into her palm.

"What's this?" she said. She looked down and saw that she was holding one of Ben's silver coins.

"Ben brought that by," Aunt Hetty said. "He was worried about you, so he put it in your hand, for luck. He said you brought him good luck when he found it, so he wanted to return the favor."

Delia let her hand fall back onto the bed. "That's nice," she murmured. Her eyes felt heavy again.

"Why don't you rest now," Aunt Hetty said as she pulled up the quilt. It felt good over Delia's tired body, with the cool morning breeze drifting in the window.

Delia looked at the quilt. It was the new one, the one the women had been finishing the night before.

"Your quilt looks beautiful," she said, touching the colored fabric.

"Your quilt," Aunt Hetty said. "We made it for you."

Delia looked at it again. There were swatches from Aunt Hetty's dresses, Grandpa's shirts, and other pieces that she recognized: a red flowered strip from one of Miss Margaret's blouses, and a piece that looked like Ben's favorite blue shirt.

As she looked closely, she could see tiny letters stitched in among the squares. They were the names of all the people who had worked on it.

Aunt Hetty. Miss Margaret. Mrs. Wilson. All of Aunt Hetty's friends. Katie Marlborough. Even Ben's name was there, in block letters.

On one edge, written in a loose script, was a longer message: "To Cordelia, love Grandpa."

"Grandpa too?" Delia asked.

Grandpa looked at his hands. "If I can mend nets, I can sew a bit," he said.

For the first time, Delia looked at her real name and liked it. "Daughter of the sea." She felt like part of the sea now.

And there, right in the middle of the whole thing, was the square that Delia's mother had made so long before. Her mother's name, Irene O'Dell Parrish, was stitched in tiny letters along the edge.

"That's your mother's square," said Aunt Hetty. "She wanted to make a quilt for you. So we finished it for her."

Delia held the quilt up to her face. "Thank you," she whispered, and closed her eyes. She thought about how all of those people had helped her, in one way or another, in her new home. "I do have good luck," she said.

Soon she was asleep again.

A few days later, on a bright, breezy afternoon, Delia walked down to the harbor to wait for the mail boat. Every day she waited for the mail, even though she had had no more letters from her father.

She sat on the post office steps and gazed out at the sparkling water, which she had feared so much just a few months before. It simply looked beautiful to her now.

"I guess I've changed," she said, smiling at the gulls that wheeled overhead.

The wind whispered through the cedars. For the first time, Delia thought how strong and interesting the old trees were. They were scarred and twisted with experience, like many people, and you could tell what their lives were like just by looking at them.

The mail boat was just entering the harbor.

Delia touched the small wound on her forehead. It didn't hurt so much now, but Grandpa had said it might leave a little scar.

But he had reassured her. "It's a mark of bravery," he said.

When the boat got closer, Delia saw that there were a lot of passengers. Other people started to gather on the dock, and Ben came running to help tie up the boat.

Capt. Haskell leaned out and called to her. "Miss Cordelia! Someone to see you!"

It was Billy Haskell home from the hospital, she thought, and her heart pounded. It would be exciting to meet him. She stood up and held herself very tall.

A tall gentleman in a Navy uniform, stepped off the boat and held out his arms.

But it wasn't Billy Haskell.

"Daddy?" Delia whispered. She raced down the dock to meet him. "Daddy!" she shouted. "Are you really here?" She buried her face in his neck as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Yes, I think so," he laughed.

"I can't believe you're here," Delia said. "I thought something had happened to you. Your letter --" She stopped as tears stung her eyes.

Her father stood up and started to walk with her down the dock. He limped a little. "Something did happen to me," he said. "I had to go to the hospital, but I'm fine now. It'll heal." He leaned down and brushed the hair from her forehead. "Hey, what's this? Are you hurt, too?"

"It'll heal," Delia said. "It's a long story. I just cut a little fladget of skin."

Her father chuckled. "A little fladget, eh? Well, you sound like a regular islander now," he said. "You'll have to tell me what happened."

So she told him all about it, and she told him the most recent news, too. "Aunt Hetty and Alex are going to get married!"

As they walked along, he told her some good news as well. "I'm a captain now, and I've been stationed here," he said. "They need me to help with the naval base."

Delia hugged him. "I'm so glad," she said. "Everybody will be glad. And Mama will, too." She stopped and looked into her father's face. "Daddy, I think she's been with me the whole time."

Her father stroked her hair. "I think she has, too," he said.

They walked down Howard Street together.

As they passed the silent, shady graves, Delia no longer felt afraid. She thought instead how peaceful those earthen beds were, and how love can make people live forever.

She took her father's hand and led him up the steps to the house.

THE END