Chapter<br >As the schooner Brother Samuel slowly emerged<br >from gray fog into sunlight， Maya Charters stood at<br >the rail， letting the brilliant warmth pour over her.<br >Many times she had doubted the wisdom of her flight<br >from the past， but not now. She had never seen any-<br >thing more beautiful than Cape Mendocino， Califor-<br >nia， where sunlight infused the water with liquid<br >diamonds. Today the Pacific Ocean was living up to<br >its name. The surface of the water was so calm that it<br >had the appearance of satin. The sunlight was warm<br >and clear， the air crystalline in its perfection.<br > Suddenly the smooth surface of the sea was pulled<br >apart by five sleek， gray shapes as dolphins surged<br >upward to play in the schooner s bow wave. The dol-<br > phins were so close to the ship that Maya could hear<br > the hollow rhythms of their breathing. She stood mo-<br > tionless， straining forward， electrified by the lithe，<br >powerful creatures. Never had she seen anything so<br > fr~， so perfectly made for the world they inhabited.<br > She both admired and envied the dolphins ease. She<br > had traveled thousands of miles in the hope that she，<br > too， would find a world where there was more to life<br > than war and starvation， misery and death.<br ><br >