Light. 

 

Dark. 

 

Light. 

 

Dark. 

 

I tumble, fin over tail, as my home is turned upside down.

 

My body naturally follows the flow of water. I splash unceremoniously into another reservoir. My thin, tired bones relish the cool depths and let me sink to the bottom. 

 

Light above, circular. Dark below, unknown. 

 

A riptide roars around me, dragging me deeper into my new home. I feel a scale torn from my left side as I slam into the side of the bowl. Then I am sucked into the void.

 

The violence of my relocation leaves me battered and weary. My small eyes scan the waters around me. Walls curve in every direction and leave me without sense of one.

 

Which way is mine? I wonder, hesitant to leave what is the only familiar space left to me. 

 

A rush of bubbles shoots between openings a little bit away, and my heart races. Do I dare catch a ride on the tide? 

 

Panic rises in my gut, and I swallow water to settle my breathing. With nowhere left to go, I swim towards the bubbles and slide between the currents, letting it lift my aching bones and carry me to what I hope is safety.

 

The wall of water pushes me up and down along long, curving hallways. I can't tell which way we are going, or which way we should be going, in the fading light.

 

Are we moving away from the light above, or am I what fades?

 

My current situation ends with another tumble, tail over fin, as I am dropped from the water and into fresh air. I feel my scales dry and tear and my lungs burn as a warm, sticky breeze assaults me. 

 

With one twist, I face what is below, and I shriek in terror as the sharp edges of rocks rush up at me. Mouth agape and agape, my axis flips again, and I am greeted by the brightest blue I have ever seen.

 

The sky whispers good-bye as I crash amongst stone. The sun caresses my scales, kissing each one in hungry greeting, as my body rests beside the bones of my ancestors.

 

It was me fading all along.