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without being overheard or exacerbating his injuries. Without glancing in his direction the woman pulls up her towel and leaves the deck for the stateroom.  He looks at Daniel. “I think she heard me. I told her to call my mother’s rabbi.”
    Daniel remains unseeing during their Mazatlan stop for supplies. He stares to the far horizon. Christopher worries. After a bout of coughing Daniel motions Christopher closer. He says, “Prisoners walk freely around the island. Don’t be fooled. The ocean provides the bars of this prison. A little town where administration lives encircled by high security fencing and guard towers. The towers are armed with machine guns and assault rifles. Surveillance cameras record entrances and exits. Guards in jeeps and on foot carry pistols and rifles. Few inmates are allowed past the gates.”
    Daniels eyes close. His head drops. Christopher hopes he rests. In a burst of panic, he stares to make sure Daniel’s chest rises and falls. Christopher’s body slumps, chin to chest. His mouth twists. How will his family begin to search for him? Will they discover his car made a border crossing? And police will say he took a trip: Nothing to investigate. The
Tijuana
cops made no arrest. No paper trail of his transfer to
Islas Tres Marias
exists.
    How many stories has he recently heard of young American men trapped in the Mexican penal system?  The State Department makes only weak attempts to inquire. One man, a decorated veteran, was brought home when Fox News pulled strings behind the scenes and encouraged viewers to cancel their travel plans in Mexico. A potential crisis of their tourist economy at stake the veteran was released immediately.
    Christopher happened to see an interview after the man returned home. One look at his face told the story of a broken man. He shivers at the memory, a decorated American veteran broken by Mexico’s prison.
    What’s the difference in Christopher’s circumstance? That man kept chained to his bunk, beaten by other prisoners, did have a paper trail of his arrest. Family or friends could locate him. Lost in these endless thoughts Christopher floats, a downward spiral into hopelessness. Within the never ending horizon of the sea, time falls away. In this eternity Christopher is shattered.
    The sun is high in the sky when dolphins break the surface, executing pirouettes. Even the crew shouts. Weaving in and out of the water, double flips in the air, the show continues for several minutes. Christopher listens to squeaks and grunts amidst their play. Their vibrancy, athleticism and gleaming health jolts Christopher free of despair. He’s completely absorbed in the unexpected wonder. In that moment he makes a decision to search out and look for life’s wonders. Watching the dolphins has provided him with a map. His first step for freedom he must to regain his health and athleticism. Within vibrancy and health he will pursue escape.
    Leaning over the railing Christopher finds himself gazing into the eye of a Humpback whale. Grasping the railing he tunnels, falling, deeply into the mystery held within the whale’s eye. Crazy, he’s certain the whale understands his predicament. The giant surfaces spouting a spray of water and leaping forward. Taking a cleansing breath, Christopher feels liberated
. It’s some kind of inexplicable spiritual magic
. In this instant he knows,
wherever beauty lives, so can I.
These wild creatures are a sign. They are a reminder of many freedoms.
    Resolving to keep faith with the indecipherable bond that connects him with these animals he can hear Master Jojo’s voice echo the corridors of his mind, “If you live in faith, through the bad times, you’ll come out of the difficulties better than before. Practice, Christopher, is the key, in good times and bad.”
    “I’ll live in faith.”
    Hard to imagine he can come out of this circumstance better than before but he pledges to stay true and keep faith with the goodness he saw