A Day Out

April had been waiting for ages to go to the aquarium. It had opened on the other side of town a few months ago but her plans never seemed to work out.

But she was here now. As soon as she walked into the building, she was overwhelmed by blue.

The color made from the water was reflecting off the floor and glass walls. It filled the room to the point where even brightly colored clothing seemed tinted.

The smell seemed blue too. It was impossible for April to explain but she took a deep breath, reveling in the smell of the water and floor wax. It was an odd combination but brought back so many memories.

Aprils’ father used to take her to the local aquarium when she was a child. It was something he splurged on. He bought season passes for the summer. April would laugh loudly as she grabbed his hand, pulling with all her might as she tried to get him in the car faster.

April would walk around and stare in awe. No matter how many times she saw the fish and sharks and plants, it whenever failed to amaze her.

Her father was now halfway across the country. It had been a tearfilled good-bye but he assured April that she was making the right choice. Moving so far away was not her original plan. But opportunities led her far from home and into the firm grasp of the adult world. It made these moments, filled with nostalgia and memories, all that more important.

A friendly-looking woman was standing next to a small podium, filled to the brim with pamphlets. She was smiling as she asked, “What can I get you? One adult ticket?”

April smiled back and replied with a simple ‘yes please’.

“Can I interest you in our summer pass? It covers visits Monday through Saturday until August 20th.” She reached for one of the pamphlets and handed it to April.

“Not right now but I may change my mind on that.”

April took the pamphlet and gave another smile to the woman before moving on.

She didn’t really have a destination in mind. She just wandered, taking in everything and anything. It was a much larger aquarium then what April was used to and she loved everything about it. She wandered around, marveling at the colorful arrangements of underwater plants and schools of fish.

There was a wing in the aquarium that April’s childhood sanctuary didn’t have. Walking down the clean hallways, April walked closer to get a view of the sharks that filled that tanks all around her.

A bull shark swam around the tank, leisurely moving his tail back and forth as if he knew that he was the most powerful creature in the room. The sign next to the tank gave facts and tidbits about the species and breed of shark but April was very preoccupied.

The top of the shark was a darker blue color than the water, shimmering with highlights from the reflection of the water. The bottom of the shark was grey, almost white. His mouth was slightly open and his gills moved to the beat of the artificial current. He was as gorgeous as he was dangerous.

Hovering her hand over the glass, April watched as the shark swam closer. He almost grazed the glass with his fin. He seemed to look right at her. Those black eyes held an intensity that would have been out of place for almost all the other creatures in the building. April smiled in wonder and whispered, quietly so only the predator on the other side of the glass could hear.

“My dad says ‘hi’.”