Human Aquarium

The year is 2050 and I am somewhere on planet earth which is what I call, my home. I didn't always have this view of life, in fact, when I was just 9 years old, I became an orphan. It wasn't an unusual way of life, most children who survived the fires, hurricanes, tsunami's and diseases were orphans like me. What is unusual is that on my 10th birthday, my life would change and I would become the youngest scientist to ever live. Here's my story-

I was in Florida when it happened. No one imagined that South Florida would be reclaimed by the ocean. My family and I only had the fondest memories of living near the sea until that fateful day when the ocean took what we thought belonged to us. I was about 200 miles inland at school, when the first wave crashed into my parents vintage beach home. My mother was never found. My Father was at work, he later died from a plane crash into an active volcano. I can't say that it was unpredictable, my Father had a fascination with volcano's and the infamous Mount Diablo teased him with minor tremors and occasional smoke. His entire life's goal was to see it actually erupt, be careful what you wish for. I have many fond memories of my Mother who was a teacher and my Father who had many interests. My parents did their best to teach me about the world and I had what I would consider to be a very unique childhood. I promised my Father that as soon as I became of age, I would become a scuba-diver. My Dad's first love was the ocean. Life after the tsunami only emboldened by desire to learn how to scuba dive. I was convinced that if everyone knew how to breathe under water, we would be able to survive any natural disaster and prolong the human race.

All anyone would see me as was an orphan child who slept under the stars most nights, on the beach near the house she lost and the Mother she will never find. I was on a mission to find an adult who would listen to me, teach me how to scuba dive and save the world! My 10th birthday was quickly approaching and there was nothing that I desired more than to make this my, our, new reality.

At any time, we could be overcome with another natural disaster, we needed to be prepared. Everyone wanted things to go back to the way they were. I never understood how adults would think so grimly and they would never give me a chance to tell them my theories. Every day, I would walk by the markets and listen to adults speak of how times were, "'the good old days," what they'll never be again, or, about the people they lost and how much they missed them. No one seemed to be concerned with survival, but me. Until one day, Mr. KooKooKrazy Scientist, a former professor at the universities of old came into town to preach of a New World Living Science University that he planned to open. It would be the first, post-pandemic University but no one cared to hear what the old man had to say, but me. I followed him around the cities for weeks, everywhere he spoke in the markets, I was only steps behind. One day, Mr. KooKoo was chased out of the public courtyards by a clan of mischievous, young men. As he was attempting his escape, a little black book almost seemed to leap out of his briefcase and before it could touch the floor, I caught it and hurried away to my treehouse.

I spent the whole evening trying to open the little black book, which, didn't have a padlock so I couldn't understand why it wouldn't open. Night was falling and I wanted to head back to the beach to look at the stars, so I sat the book down, this time, standing it up. As soon as the book hit the floor it flew open! The pages completely blank and it grew. The little black book grew taller than me standing at 4 feet tall! I immediately began telling the book of my theories, at which point, my words began to appear on the pages of the now- big black book! By the night of my 10th birthday, I learned how to not only write but how to read, thanks to this magical book that jumped into my arms out of Mr. KooKooKrazy Scientist guys' briefcase. Talk about a lifechanging 10th birthday, just like I wanted.

I walked into the market once the sun peaked out to begin the day. It was my 10th birthday and with my little black book in hand, I ventured out into the world as what I now considered myself to be, an adult. I knew how to read and write, my little black book taught me. How many adults would learn that way? I would never dare to open it in public, the book stands alone and as tall as I am! I began speaking to the adults in the crowd, "Children should be treated equally like adults! Children are the future of this world! Listen to this child and survive the next pandemic!" I would chant this every day at high noon and people would walk by, smile at me and pat me on the head. I was secretly hoping that one day Mr. KooKoo would appear and read the book I wrote, the book that changed my life but he never came.

One month before my 11th birthday, I took a stroll to the ocean. It was about 4pm. Everyone was packing up for the day and heading home to be with their families. I looked to the ocean and made the promise that the next time it came to reclaim the land, I would live at peace with the ocean as a scuba-diver. I would learn how to breathe and live underwater. The night was falling and the stars started sparkling, when I turned to my right and saw The KooKoo Scientist going into the sea. I quickly ran towards him, "Sir, Sir! Don't go into the Ocean, it's not safe!" I yelled and yelled and he kept going further and further into the ocean. I yelled, "learn how to scuba dive and you can live under the water forever!" He quickly turned around and looked at me. "What did you say dear?" I appealed to him and told him emphatically that if everyone learned how to scuba-dive we would be able to survive every natural disaster and prolong the human race! He came to shore, startled by my presence until he laid eyes on my little black book. I showed it to him and said, "This book saved my life Sir!" At which he fell to his feet and began crying, out loud, agonizing tears which turned into uncontrollable laughter. Mr. Freedman was his name.

I went with Mr. Freedman to his KooKoo cave mansion, mad-scientist lab headquarters that night. He explained the origins of the little black book to me. He said that it flew into his window one day from a storm. He said that he could not get it open. He even tried the local magicians to chant spells to try to unlock the book, but it would never open. He told me all about his plans for the New World Living Science University and told me that I would be the first scientist to teach at the University. At this point, I thought I had died and went to another realm. I found an adult who listened to me and not just listened but believed in me.

The only thing standing in the way of Mr. Freedman opening the University was $20,000. Money meant nothing to me, it was a grown-up thing that I never understood much. My Father was never at home spending time with me because he was chasing the dollar bills as my Mother would say. Chasing dollars sounded like a dog chasing it's tail, but, what did I know? I asked Mr. Freedman what the $20,000 would buy since we no longer used money in our society. He explained that the University was able to do time-travel and once transported back to life 30 years ago, pre-pandemic, he would need $20,000 to change history. I didn't give it much thought but Mr. Freedman believed in me, so I believed in him.

We started going on tour, teaching everyone how to scuba dive and how to live on land while breathing with a tank of oxygen. We even decided to make a tank that would take us into outer space within the next 20 years. He promised me that I would be the first person to go out of space since he would be long gone before then. Before long, we had our $20,000 for time-travel and a captivated audience for what laid ahead. On my 11th birthday, we opened the first of it's kind- New World Living Science University. I learnt how to scuba dive the day before my 11th birthday in a pool that Mr. Freedman made. He monitored my breaths and regulated the water temperature. He was a genius. We even hypothesized making enough of this water to give every family their own pool in the comfort of their homes. I called it the Human Aquarium.

I don't know who brought this little black book into our lives but whoever it was, made sure it got into the right hands. We were the perfect team and we understood each others theories though belonging to different times. Mr. Freedman was 91 years old when he left this earth. He raised me, educated me, employed me and left me the University of the New World Living Science. I can confidently say, now at the age of 41, that we changed the trajectory of human life and survived the 30 years of pandemics that followed, each more terrifying than the last. We went back to the Ocean, our original world and became at peace with our natural Human Aquarium. This is the story of how I became a Scientist and scuba diver, at 10 years old.

Children are the future, climate change is real. Sometimes we as adults get lost in the details and the dollars and forget the magic that is all around us. "I think that no idea is so outlandish that it should not be considered," said Winston Churchhill. We need to allow ourselves more "play time" to imagine the possibilities of what could be because our future depends on it. If I didn't believe in magic at 10 years old, the power of the stars and the lifesaving energy of the ocean, we wouldn't be here right now.