Áron Kaposvári
Today it wasn’t a bad day, after all. We got food, I won the competition, philosophical conversation and…oh, hi there! Let me introduce myself. I am Aqua Splash. I currently live in an enclosed lake, which is called something like an aquarium. I have managed to memorize it because of my name. I have a lot of friends and would like to introduce them, too. Firstly, my best friend is Tidal Zephyr. The other fish are Cleo, Misty, Swish, Blaze, Calypso, Pearl and Coral. My list hasn’t reached its end yet: I am on good terms with the local seaweeds, too, like Emerald Wave, Tidal Tangle, Sea Serpent and so on. Oh, and before I forget, I want to mention the two creepiest places here: The Echo Cave and the Skull Abyss.
Now some daily activities. First of all, the one that indicates the start of a new day: eating. All of us like eating, and it is always a competition for more food. The other signal for morning is the light from above. The plants say that it is probably for them, as it is crucial for their life. I asked them why and they said for their growth, but they were reluctant to talk about it further. Anyways, we love to organise competitions or races around the plants while they are swinging to make obstacles. We avoid the Cave and the Abyss; these serve the purpose of a bravery challenge, that is, if anyone enters, the following two nights are accompanied by terrible nightmares, so I heavily recommend not to approach them. Above all, we also discuss things with everybody, I mean fish and seaweeds.
Let me give you some history about my previous life. When I was really small, and my parents were living, I could explore everything with protection alongside me, and the place was nearly endless. It was a wonderful experience! That was the best time of my life. As time passed, I grew up, I had to start my own life, but my luck started to decay. I couldn’t find enough food, I starved a lot and my predators usually chased me for a long time, which always made me very tired. The biggest blow came when I decided to return home for a visit. I assumed that my parents were still there, because they were experts at survival. I arrived but there was nobody. I just decided to turn back when I saw them in the distance. All of us were delighted to see each other. Then suddenly something happened, it was compeletely unexpected. I began to approach them, but suddenly a net took both of them away, out of the water. It frightened me so much that I tried to swim away as fast as I could. Unfortunately, the same happened to me. Though I was fished out, too, I was able to take a last look at my parents. I never saw them again. The strange creatures put me in a… no, sorry, I-I can’t go on, it’s a very traumatic story for me.
Apologies, a long time has passed since I last contemplated on my own lifestyle and talked to you. I have not managed to recover from the traumatic effect of bringing up bad memories. Nevertheless, now I would like to describe my new, present situation. The others, I mean my former friends…are all dead. They slowly passed away, one by one. You could ask, though, why the plants aren’t enough company for me. Well, one day the lights above us didn’t come. They had ceased coming every morning and turning off every night. As a result the dear seaweeds started to wilt. They are gone, too. Nobody is left except me. The only thing that happens is getting a bunch of food. But even that doesn’t taste the same anymore. Always the same dull days come and pass like years. Oh, why do I need to die alone, as the last one of our nice group? Just try to find a way to do the same? Yes, that would be the solution to ending my suffering. Perhaps I should say goodbye now, because maybe tomorrow, or some days later, I won’t be able to talk to you anymore.