Ralph & Millie: The Hundred-Kilometre Journey Home

The boat rocked just a little, like it was yawning in its sleep. Early morning light lay warm and gold on the Marlborough Sounds. Ralph stood at the bow, chocolate curls ruffling, paws planted on the shiny rail. Millie sat close beside him, black coat gleaming, the white tuft on her chest bright as a tiny flag. The water smelled clean and salty, and the engine made a steady, friendly hum.

You could hear the waves tick-ticking against the boat. You could also hear the small sounds of their day - Millie’s soft panting, Ralph’s quick little breaths, and the click of the ropes when the breeze tugged them. Ralph held on tight, because he liked steady things. He liked the boat going the same way every time.

Then the calm changed in a blink.

A bump jolted up through the floorboards. Ralph felt it in his feet first, then in his whole body. The engine gave a sputter - like a toy that ran out of batteries - and the hum stopped. For a heartbeat, everything was quiet except the slap of water.

Millie’s ears popped up. “Millie!” Ralph said, reaching for her with one paw. But the boat lurched again, sharper this time, and the bow tipped. Ralph’s claws scrabbled for the rail, scraping against the metal, and he slipped.

The cold hit him like a bucket of ice. The water was heavy and fast. Ralph tried to kick and breathe, but the sea filled his mouth with salty taste and his nose with wet, sharp smells. He saw the boat above him, tilting, then drifting, then shrinking.

Millie’s voice cut through the splashes. “Ralph!”

Ralph turned his head toward the sound and kicked harder. He could feel the current pulling at his fur, tugging him away in one steady direction. He paddled anyway, paws pushing against the blue-gray water, and he called back, “Millie!”

The boat moved on without him. Ralph could hear it creak and shift, the way a wooden toy shifts when you lift it - only this was bigger, and it wouldn’t stop. He kicked and paddled until his arms felt tired and his body felt colder, and then he had to keep going just to stay near where Millie might be.

Millie leapt after him, and for a moment Ralph could see her - black coat flashing, white tuft bobbing - before the waves pulled them apart again. The sea kept whispering and swishing around Ralph, and the sky above him stayed bright, even as he drifted farther from the boat.