Catching Creekles

"I don't know! You were the one who had it last!"

"Well, you said to leave it at your Nana's house when I was done with it, and then you'd get it before we met up!"

"Did not!"

"You did," a third voice chimed in, calm and collected. "You told Tomo yesterday to leave it at your Nana's, since you would be stopping there on your way to meet us here."

Paulo's face flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and anger at having been proven a liar. "Well I forgot!"

"Guys, guys," an authoritative fourth voice spoke up. "We told our parents we'd be home before dinner. We won't have time to go back to Paulo's Nana's house and then back here to catch a creekle. We should call the mission off for today."

"What!? Come on, Casey!" Paulo protested. "We can still catch one even if we can't take a picture of it!"

"But no one will believe us if we don't have photographic evidence," Leyla chimed in once again. "There's no point unless we can prove to everyone that they're still alive."

"We could take it with us -- just for a little bit," Paulo retorted.

"No!" Leyla raised her voice. "You remember what Mrs. Clavelle said: if they're taken too far away from their home, they get sick and then they die!"

Paulo crossed his arms with what could only be described as a 'harumph.' He never could win in an argument against Leyla, so he once again had no choice but to sulk.

It had been an entire week since they'd boldly taken on the task of capturing and photographing a creature said to have long gone extinct. Many moons ago, it had been discovered that the isles of St. Noti were home to a rare species known colloquially as a ‘creekle.’ They had been native to the small cluster of islands, it being the only known place in the world where creekles could once be found.

The summer had gotten off to a roaring start, the planning phase beginning the day after school ended and taking the entirety of a week before the execution of it could feasibly be carried out. ('Feasibly' in that Tomo could get his overly-concerned parents' permission to go exploring towards the interior of the island -- where the last sighting of a creekle had been.)

"Well, we're not entirely sure how far that distance is," Casey considered aloud. "Tomo's house is only forty minutes away. Thirty if we run."

"Yeah!" Paulo's hope was renewed.

"No, it's too great of a risk," Leyla quelled everyone's ambitions. "They haven't been seen in decades. They must be close to extinction as it is."

"Leyla's right," Tomo contributed. "And besides, I don't think my parents would want to deal with a dead creekle on their doorstep."

"Yeah, if anyone found out, they could get in trouble," Casey surmised.

"We would all get in trouble," Leyla concluded the debate.

"Well if they're supposed to be dead, why would we get in trouble?" Paulo made one final attmept.

"Exactly," Leyla wore a smug expression. "If they're supposed to be extinct, why would anyone get in trouble for killing one?"

"That's why we're all here," Casey could barely contain the excitement brimming under the stoicism he always tried to maintain. "We're gonna get to the bottom of this once and for all."

Tomo was the only one who seemed to be standing outside of the general atmosphere. "Are... we sure we want to do this?"

Casey and Leyla exchanged a look. They had been the ones to come up with the plan in the first place, with Paulo and Tomo coming along only because they didn't want to miss out.

"We could get in trouble, right?" Tomo glanced between them.

"That would only be if we killed one. If we just take a picture, how could we get in trouble?" Casey reassured him.

Leyla was glaringly silent, however.

"Yeah, don't be a wimp, Tomo!" Paulo puffed out his chest.

"I'm not--!"

"It's worth considering," Leyla interrupted Tomo.

The group fell silent. All eyes were on Leyla.

"There must be a reason we've all been told they're extinct, and yet the edict not to kill any still stands. Those who first spread the idea probably wouldn't like us throwing a wrench in the mix," Leyla stared down the group.

A solemnity hung in the air between the would-be investigative journalists.

"That's all the more reason we should do it," Casey levelled. "Whenever people try and cover up things, there's always a bad reason behind it."

Tomo looked at Casey in admiration. They had all been friends since kindergarten, but Tomo couldn't help but look up to Casey in particular, as the years had progressed. He had never been as brave as Casey could be. He never intervened if anyone in school was being bullied, nor spoke up if he was the victim. But Casey? Casey was always the first to stand up when no one else dared.

For once, he wanted to try. Like how his friend always tried.

Tomo nodded his head resolutely. Casey smiled back at him.

"Yeah!" Paulo was pumped. "Let's do this!"

"Tomorrow," Leyla eyed him.

Paulo stuck his tongue out at her, but did not make any further retort.

"Alright. We'll meet here at the same time tomorrow," Casey nodded. "But since we're already here... anyone wanna race to the top of that hill?"

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The summer was hot and humid, as summers were on St. Noti. Solar panels basked in the blistering midday sun upon any and all clearings between the dense, tropical foliage that enshrouded the islands. The sole purpose of these solar panels was to power the ever-sacred air conditioning units found in the homes of the elite. If the lower classes were lucky, the remaining wattages couold be devoted to their plug-in fans (if they kept all other appliances off).

Like many a morning before, Casey had to prepare his dad's breakfast before leaving for the mission. The recipient of such love and care, sprawled haphazardly back in his recliner, was barely awake after completely wasting himself the night previous.

He hated dry toast, but was hungover and thus incapable of consuming anything rich or fatty. With this mental note stuck firmly in the back of his mind, Casey carefully spread a sparing layer of butter across the ridges of the toast’s face. With the grace of a skilled dancer, he quietly lowered it onto a table off to the side the recliner. His dad was about to kick up some sort of fuss, but ended up burping instead. In the clear, Casey was free to carry on with his day.

The sojourn to gather the group would take him first to Leyla, then to Paulo, and finally to Tomo. From there, they would be at the last known location of a creekle by the afternoon.

Casey was the oldest in the group by four months, having been the unofficial leader since their elementary school days. Now that they were in middle school, such trivialities had come to nothing. But still, it had remained fixed in their dynamic.

If Casey was the head of the group, Leyla was the neck. She had always been a force to reckon with, in a quiet and unassuming way. Even if she kept to herself, she always had a plan she was scheming or a dream she was manifesting or a theory she was hypothesizing. And Casey thought that was really cool. He was quite looking forward to spending a part of the journey alone with her, actually.

Leyla alighted from her front door step just as Casey had rounded the bend in the path. They didn't have to say anything -- even the greetings they exchanged were barely warranted. Each of their eager smiles were enough to comminucate the excitement charged between them. They were beaming all the way to Paulo's.

"And if you don't come back before sunset, you're not getting any dessert!" Paulo's mother bustled out the door after him, a rolling pin poised in her hand.

"I know, I know! Sheesh!" Paulo was mid-escape, running to meet his friends who had been waiting for his mother to finish doling out her ever-expanding list of reminders.

"You have the camera?" she called out.

"I have the camera!" Paulo was getting increasingly exasperated.

"And Paulo!" she yelled.

"What!?" Paulo whirled around.

"Come here," her voice was instantly softer.

"Mom, no!" Paulo whined, embarrassed. But all it took was one look for him to shuck off his pride and run back to his mother.

"I love you," she gave him a big wet kiss on the forehead.

He was simultaneously and desperately trying to keep his distance. "I know--"

"I what?" she stared him down.

"I love you too," he grumbled under his breath, giving in.

"There's my boy. Now run along," she smiled.

Paulo wiped the kiss off as Casey and Leyla tried desperately to keep their giggles at bay. But Paulo saw them and turned a deeper shade of red. "Come on! What are you guys waiting for?" he huffed.

"Nothing," Leyla stuck her tongue out.

"Let's just get out of here," Paulo puffed out his chest. The trio bid his words without any further delay, taking off down the pathway towards Tomo's.

"And don't get any mud on your new sandals!" they heard echoing behind them.

Tomo was anxiously hanging around the front window when they arrived. The second he spotted them, he rushed past his parents -- in as dignified a manner as one can rush -- and slipped his shoes on in record speed; they barely had time to say goodbye by the time he was out the front door.

Tomo calmly closed the door behind him before bursting out of his shell towards his friends. Enthused exhanges flourished between them as they reeled across the summer morning, a kaleidoscope of sensations getting twisted up in the realization of their bold and daring plan.

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By noon, they were almost at the last known sighting.

A certain hush was befalling them the closer they got. It reached a point where it was only Paulo making remarks to an increasingly distracted group.

"Paulo," Leyla's patience had finally been worn down. "We should be quiet now. We don't want to make any noises that could scare a creekle away."

Paulo only stuck his tongue out at her, crossing his arms in defiance but not daring to say anything.

It wasn't long before they had reached the location: an unassuming creek that was an outlet of one of the main rivers on the isle.

Paulo dug out the camera from his rucksack, examining their surroundings through the lens like he expected a creekle to show up at any moment.

Leyla rolled her eyes and fished out, well, a fish from her rucksack. Casey came over to examine the smell.

"Halibut," she held it up. "This is supposed to be one of their favourite foods," she declared. Casey nodded his approval at the bait she had chosen, helping her select a suitable spot to arrange it.

"Did it cost much?" he asked.

"No," Leyla shook her head. "Just a week's allowance. A worthwhile sacrifice," she said solemnly.

While they took care of that matter, Tomo withdrew a picnic blanket from his rucksack and went to set it up -- far enough away to make a creekle think it'd be safe to come out, but close enough to get a good picture. And of course, it would have to be in the shade. That much was a given.

Satisfied with his final choice, he sat down to take in the view of his friends. They were each in their own ways diligently carrying out the mission at hand. He felt very appreciative of their hard work, in that moment.

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As the day lazed into the afternoon, so their aspirations waned with the hours. They were all lounging on the blanket: Paulo kicking a rock around, Leyla telling him to stop kicking a rock around, Casey lying on his back using his hands as a pillow, and Tomo simply existing.

*splash*

They ceased any and all movement.

*splish splash*

Paulo lunged at the camera. Leyla swatted him for making a quick movement, which made him yelp. Casey silently shushed him with his finger to his lips. Paulo was making a silent protest when another splash cut through the humidity.

Everyone was swivelling their heads in the direction of the creek, alert to the slightest disturbance.

"Half the fish is gone," Casey whispered.

Anticipation was running through everyone's veins. Their eyes became fixed solely on the half-eaten halibut. The minutes wriggled past at an unbearable rate.

The creek near the fish began to ripple.

"Nobody move," Leyla said but didn't have to.

A head peaked above the surface of the water.

"Make sure the flash is off," Casey whispered to Paulo.

*Click* went the camera shutter. The sound, fortunately, was lost in the sound of the grasshoppers coping with the heat. Another few *clicks* went by just as unnoticed.

And then, not seeming to notice the quartet in the slightest, the creekle crawled out on its four legs, intermittently checking its surroundings for anything amiss.

Satisfied with its intel, the creekle sat down complacently in front of the halibut and continued its feast. The group, meanwhile, was positively starstruck. No one dared budge an inch or even breath too loudly.

It twitched some water out of its ears as it contented itself with a full belly. The source of all manner of mystery then began to lick its little fingers clean, munching down between them to get every last speck of debris.

When it was done, it looked around once more. It settled on the group, staring at them like it had known they were there all along. The moment this created hung suspended in that special part of time and space that leaves its mark on you for the rest of your life. They barely had to time to savour it before the creekle hopped back under the water. It did not reappear.

The moment having passed, the four looked at each other as if to make sure none of them had imagined it. Seeing the confirmation in each other's eyes, they let out silent cheers and hurrahs, unable to contain themselves from dancing around the blanket like they were participating in their own tribal ceremony.

Everyone hastily packed up and ran back down the path they had carved to get there. Once far enough away, their cheers became audible. Very audible. Everyone crowded around Paulo, who was basking in the power that comes with so much attention, to get a look at his shots. He flipped through the digital album with all of the pride of a Nobel Prize winner. Tomo meekly pointed to one picture as being the best because it was the clearest. Everyone -- even Paulo -- heartily agreed.

The utter rapture that comes with successfully carrying out a secret mission carried each of them home to their houses. Even Paulo didn't mind missing dessert because he was late.

Casey and Leyla were saying their goodbyes once they'd arrived at her house, well into the evening. They each still had something to say, however, and so lingered around the gate.

"Remember," Leyla held her head up, "we're not telling anyone until the fall. I'll show Mrs. Clavelle first. Hopefully she can help us figure out what to do next."

"But just in case the adults try to bury it," Casey continued, "we'll only say you have the photos, but each keep digital copies. So no one can prove us liars."

"Exactly."

What they had each wanted to say had still not been said. And it remained so for the rest of the summer.

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The new school year couldn't come quickly enough. But its arrival only brought a worried Mrs. Clavelle, and a private meeting with Leyla.

An emergency group meeting was subsequently held that very evening.

Leyla, almost tearful, recounted that they could never show anyone the evidence they had secured. It would have to remain a mystery.

After explaining why, everyone solemnly agreed.

The world was not yet ready to learn of their enduring existence. But Casey, Leyla, Paulo, and Tomo were more than willing to protect that precious secret until their last breaths.