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A Fish Can Dream

Just a fish... having an existential crisis... nothing to sea here!

By Scott BradbrookPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
1

A school of fusilier fish circle near the northern coast of Queensland. In the shimmering blue water, one of them begins dreaming of life outside of their group.

“Three yellowtails takin’ on the world! What do ya say?”

“Here we go again.” Beau rolls his eyes. “Terry, I swear I’ll tail slap you so hard, you’ll never swim straight again.”

“Dude, we swim in circles. It’s kinda what we do.”

“That’s not the point. And it’s Caesio cuning; not yellowtail, you uncouth dullard,” Beau replies, tilting his head up in superiority. Beau wouldn’t have had such a refined vernacular if it weren’t for a mouldy encyclopaedia floating near the last reef. Terry, however, found the zooplankton far more… delectable.

“Jokes on you because I don’t even know what that means. And this is coming from the one who accidentally swam in the opposite direction for two hours last Thursday.” Terry rebutted, bumping fins with his well-versed friend.

“I already told you and Kate; I contracted a delirium-inducing contaminant from that foreign plankton.”

“Or you could just admit you mistook the flowery sea-trash for food.” Terry revelled in pushing Beau’s buttons, breaking up the monotony of swimming, eating, and sleeping.

“Ugh, whatever,” Beau says, returning a friendly bump. In their years of friendship, the two had become accustomed to each other’s whits and habits. “Speaking of, where is Kate?” Searching through the underwater tornado of scales, the two yellowtails spot a familiar shade of blue in the school’s centre. Looking at one another, they can tell something is up. Curiously, they swim to meet her.

“Whatcha doooin?” Terry asks, pulling up next to her.

“Do you guys ever wonder if there’s more to life?” Kate asks them, staring blankly into the deep blue and beyond. She often wonders how far the ocean stretches, and what strange seas lie outside of what she could see.

“Great! Now you’ve got her doing it,” Beau laments, shaking his head. “That kind of crazy thinking better not be contagious.”

“Finally, someone who shares my ambition for ocean-wide domination!” Terry lets out a maniacal laugh that causes several others to stare.

The three of them slow down, almost swimming to a stop. “Why so suspicious?”

“Serious, Terry. It’s why so serious,” Beau corrects. “But Terry’s right, what’s on your mind.”

“Doth my ear-stones deceiveth me?” Terry asks, surprised by his own validity. “Kate, you heard him say I was right, right?”

“Honestly, why in the ocean do we keep you around?” Beau rolls his eyes at Terry. Part of Beau could never imagine life without his irritating friend.

“Must be my magnetic personality,” Terry retorts, grinning from gill to gill, “ya see, I know big words too.”

“Well, don’t you guys think there’s more out there?” Kate breaks in, ceasing their back and forth. She continues, “Beyond the school? And maybe… maybe even above the surface?” Her eyes glint in the sunlight, entranced by the refracted and distorted sky above. “There must be more to life than swimming in circles and eating plankton.”

“Um— well— I don’t know,” Beau replies. Having never considered his existence before, the thought stumps him. “I guess life is… what we make of it.”

“Woah… that’s deep,” Terry replies, holding back a chuckle at his pun.

“And a fish can dream, right?” Beau offers, masking his uncertainty with a kind smile. “Come on, we can’t lose the school.”

“Yeah,” Kate replies, still pondering on her existential thoughts. The three yellowtails re-join the speed of the school, now nearing a reef for feeding. Although their day may continue on as it once did, she will always wonder. “A fish can dream.”

Humor
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About the Creator

Scott Bradbrook

Hi! My name is Scott and I'm an author, editor and copywriter. When I'm not adding to my never-ending TBR pile, I'm either salsa dancing, forgetting a great story idea, or writing my next book. I hope you like my short stories and poems! :)

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