Endless Circle

The world was his playground, free to roam wherever he wished in the deep life giving water. He had no reason to fear the dark waters and the monsters it hides; he could out swim any creature, be it large or small. He spent his time playing in forgotten ships, dancing with dolphins and singing with whales. And for the most part that kept him happy, but like most children his attention was fleeting, nothing could keep him entertained for long and he longed for adventure, to do new things and see other wonders of Mother Nature. The dark depths of the oceans held no mystery to the young boy. He dreamed of seeing others like him, half man half fish.

In his wanderings he had seen the horrors that man could inflict on those who lived in the water, killed for meat or put away in tanks for others to see, he’d seen them threw away their rubbish into his home. He vowed never to befriend a human once and did everything in his power to avoid them. But that did not mean he wasn’t curious about the world they lived in; he wondered if the world was as vast as his, with many different things to see and do. So he decided one day to swim up one of the many cannels that came out of the large land masses. Large amounts of water bleed out into the sea in a constant powerful flow, making it nearly impossible for fish to swim up but for the boy it was merely a task he had to overcome, a small chore he could do any day. It did not take long for the boy to reach a dead end, finding himself in a large lagoon filled with smooth rocks he could sunbath on and water quickly flowing into it from a waterfall creating a fine mist that covered everything. While the pool was empty but for him, the area around the pool was brimming with life, animals he had only seen at a distance drank deeply from muddy banks and he listened closely as birds sang their songs from high in the trees.

He could spend forever in this place.

But his peace and quite would not last long. While he was admiring the world around him he never noticed the young girl behind the waterfall until he heard a giggle; a sound he had never heard before. He turned quickly only to have water splashed into his face and a laugh following. Frozen by shock he could only stare at the strange sight; it looked like a human child, but was the wrong colour to what he was used to seeing; pale blue skin and eyes, hair as white as ocean surf and a laugh that sounded like the waterfall.

Her lips moved and sound followed, but what she said he could not tell, “It’s rude to stare” had no meaning to the boy and he cocked his head to the side like a cat before splashing her with cold water. The laugh followed again and they both smile to each other.

All children understood the language of play.

Time had no meaning to the two children, playing like all children do in the ice cold water. Days past with only a pause to eat and sleep, neither child aging as years past. The world spun as it always did, neither mourning nor stopping to watch the immortal souls. But like always the boy slowly grew bored of their games, wishing to return back to the deep waters he once called home. With an understanding smile she watched him leave her alone to play in her waterfall, waiting for him to come back like he always did; an immortal always called to others like them, those who could not age and lived alone in the place of their creation.

Again years past while the boy played with his fish friends children, swimming around the world on his own listening for a call only he could hear. Once he grew tried of those games he turned back towards his water nymph friend, ready to play games in the cool lagoon water. It was their endless circle.