Lou-Anne and the Hippo in Omi’s Lake

Lou-Anne’s eleventh birthday was only three days away when Omi telephoned with an invitation.

“Why don’t you and your friends come to the lake for a little almost-birthday visit?” she suggested. “Opi has repaired the rowing boat, the weather is meant to be beautiful, and I may have baked something.”

Lou-Anne smiled. When Omi said she might have baked something, it usually meant that the kitchen table was already covered with enough food for a small festival.

The next morning, Lou-Anne arrived at Omi and Opi’s lakeside house with M’Pofo, Kiera, Vakawu, Ubejane and Marmalade. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail, and she carried a swimming bag, a sun hat and the new sketchbook she hoped to fill before her birthday.

Omi was waiting on the porch. Her silver-grey hair shone in the morning light, and she waved both arms when she saw them.

“There’s my nearly eleven-year-old!” she called.

Lou-Anne ran up the path and hugged her. “I’m still ten for three more days.”

“Then we must make excellent use of ten while it lasts,” Omi said.

Opi came around the side of the house carrying two wooden oars. Behind him, tied to the jetty, bobbed a sturdy green-and-white rowing boat.

Vakawu’s eyes widened. “Is that our transport?”

“It is,” said Opi. “Provided everyone listens to the safety rules.”

Ubejane glanced at the boat and then at himself. “I have concerns about the seating arrangements.”

“You and M’Pofo can travel beside us in the shallows,” Opi explained. “The lake is calm, and we will stay near the shore.”

That suited Ubejane perfectly. He had never trusted boats. They were, in his opinion, pieces of wood with too much confidence.

Before they set off, Omi handed out life jackets. Lou-Anne fastened hers properly, and Kiera wore one specially adjusted for a kangaroo. Vakawu’s jacket was snug enough to stop him climbing the mast of a boat that did not actually have a mast. Marmalade received a small animal life jacket, although he sat in the bow looking deeply offended by it.

“Nobody swims alone,” Omi reminded them. “We stay close to the boat, we listen to Opi, and we come out of the water when we are tired.”

Lou-Anne nodded. “And we wear our life jackets.”

“Exactly.”

Opi helped everyone settle into the boat. He took one pair of oars while Lou-Anne sat beside him with the other. Omi sat in the middle with the picnic basket. Vakawu and Marmalade took the bow, and Kiera balanced carefully near the stern.

M’Pofo and Ubejane stepped into the water beside them.

“Ready?” asked Opi.

Lou-Anne grinned. “Ready.”

The oars dipped into the lake, and the little boat glided away from the jetty.

At first, Lou-Anne’s strokes were uneven. One oar splashed while the other barely touched the water, causing the boat to turn in a slow circle.

Vakawu looked towards the house. “A remarkable journey. We have travelled almost four metres and seen the same tree twice.”

Opi laughed. “Pull both oars together, Lou-Anne. Smoothly, not quickly.”

She tried again. This time the boat moved forwards in a straight line.

“There you are,” said Omi. “Growing older is mostly discovering which things work better when you don’t rush them.”

The lake was bright and peaceful. Dragonflies skimmed the surface, and little fish flashed between the reeds. M’Pofo walked beside the boat with the water reaching his chest. Ubejane followed closer to shore, where his feet could touch the muddy bottom.

They rowed to a quiet bay protected by willow trees. Opi dropped a small anchor, and Omi checked the water carefully.

“This is our swimming place,” she said. “Stay between the boat and M’Pofo.”

Lou-Anne climbed down the little ladder. The lake felt cool against her sun-warmed skin. She kept one hand on the boat until she was comfortable, then pushed away and floated on her back.

Kiera slipped into the water beside her and paddled with strong, sweeping kicks. Vakawu lowered one foot over the side, changed his mind, then changed it back again and jumped in with a splash.

Marmalade remained inside the boat.

“You’re missing all the fun,” Lou-Anne told him.

Marmalade looked at the lake, looked at Lou-Anne, and curled his tail firmly around his paws. Some invitations did not deserve an answer.

For a while, everyone enjoyed the water. M’Pofo sprayed a fine silver mist from his trunk. Kiera practised floating. Vakawu attempted to race Lou-Anne and discovered that making the most noise was not the same as swimming the fastest.

Then the boat moved.

It was only a small bump, but Omi felt it beneath her feet.

“Opi?” she said.

“I felt it too.”

Something large passed beneath the surface near the reeds.

Ubejane stopped walking. Vakawu climbed halfway up the ladder. Lou-Anne moved calmly back towards the boat, just as Omi had taught her.

Two round ears appeared above the water.

Then two bright eyes.

Then a broad, friendly face rose from the lake with a tremendous snort.

“A hippo!” cried Kiera.

The young hippopotamus blinked at them. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to bump your boat.”

M’Pofo lifted his trunk in greeting. “Hello. My name is M’Pofo.”

The hippo’s face brightened. “Are you a friend of Havubu?”

“A very good friend.”

“He’s my cousin!” she said. “My name is Zuri. I was exploring a water channel after last night’s rain, and it led me into this lake.”

Lou-Anne relaxed, although she stayed beside the ladder. “You’re a long way from the Savannah water hole.”

Zuri nodded. “I know. I was enjoying the cool water and didn’t notice how far I had come. Now I can’t find the channel again.”

Opi looked towards the reeds. “There is an old stream behind that willow bank. It fills when the lake is high.”

“That must be it,” said Lou-Anne. “We can help Zuri find the entrance.”

Omi agreed, but she reminded everyone to keep a respectful distance. Zuri was friendly, but she was still a hippopotamus and needed room to move.

Everyone climbed back into the boat. M’Pofo walked on one side while Zuri swam on the other, leaving plenty of space between them. Opi rowed towards the willow bank, and Lou-Anne watched for any opening among the reeds.

Vakawu climbed onto the highest safe seat in the boat and pointed ahead. “There! The reeds are moving.”

At first, Lou-Anne saw only green stems and shadows. Then she noticed a narrow ribbon of flowing water.

“He’s right,” she said. “The channel is behind those branches.”

M’Pofo gently lifted a fallen branch with his trunk. Opi guided the boat no farther than the edge, while Zuri swam forwards to investigate.

The young hippo disappeared between the reeds. A moment later, her cheerful voice floated back.

“This is it!”

She returned to thank them, pushing a small smooth object through the water with her nose. Lou-Anne reached down and lifted it carefully.

It was a pale stone shaped almost perfectly like a heart.

“I found it at the bottom of the lake,” Zuri said. “It can be an early birthday present.”

Lou-Anne held the wet stone in both hands. “How did you know it was nearly my birthday?”

Zuri smiled. “Vakawu announced it five times while you were swimming.”

“Important information should be shared,” Vakawu said.

Lou-Anne laughed. “Thank you, Zuri. I’ll keep it on my desk.”

Zuri touched noses with M’Pofo and promised to bring Havubu for a visit one day. Then she slipped into the channel and vanished among the willows, leaving only rings of silver water behind her.

When the friends returned to the jetty, Omi spread a blanket on the grass and unpacked the picnic. There were cheese sandwiches, sliced fruit, lemonade and a small cake decorated with ten sugar flowers and one tiny unopened bud.

Lou-Anne studied it. “Ten flowers and a bud?”

“Ten years completed,” Omi said, “and one new year waiting to open.”

They ate beside the lake while the rowing boat bobbed gently against the jetty. Marmalade finally escaped his life jacket and settled in the sunshine. Ubejane found a patch of excellent mud. M’Pofo told everyone that Zuri had Havubu’s smile, and Vakawu began planning an official birthday announcement for the entire Savannah.

Lou-Anne sat between Omi and Opi with the heart-shaped stone in her lap.

“Are you excited about turning eleven?” Omi asked.

Lou-Anne thought for a moment. “Yes. A little nervous too.”

Omi put an arm around her shoulders. “That’s perfectly normal. Birthdays don’t ask you to become a completely different person overnight. They simply remind you that you have grown.”

Lou-Anne looked across the bright lake. That morning she had learnt to row more smoothly, remembered how to stay safe in the water, and helped a lost hippo find her way home.

Perhaps being nearly eleven did not mean knowing everything.

Perhaps it meant being ready to learn, ready to help and ready for whatever waited beyond the next bend in the reeds.

As the afternoon light turned golden, Lou-Anne hugged Omi tightly.

“This was the best almost-birthday visit.”

Omi smiled. “And your real birthday hasn’t even begun.”

The friends watched the sunset from the jetty, their feet and paws dangling above the water. Somewhere beyond the willow bank, a friendly hippo gave one distant, happy call.

Lou-Anne held her heart-shaped stone and smiled.

Eleven was already looking like a wonderful adventure.