Warmth in deep darkness

Light at the edge of the world

Granting Salvation

All too familiar with such a phrase, they became. The knights; the immortal protectors, crossed the horizon and never returned? Surely they cannot die, so what could possibly have them held up for so long? We must search for it, surely we shall never want to leave as well! And so they left. One after the other, until there were four. Such pitiful optimism is something the smallest one was accustomed to evade.

Four gathered that morning.

The warmth of the water graced their skin. The rainbows they could see but never reach lie just beyond the residue of the morning’s rain. Battalions of jellyfish autonomously bobbed outside their homes in a synchronized dance.

“It is time for me to go,” said the anchovy. “This light I’ve heard so much about must be my higher calling. I’m certain that this final voyage will only lead to great new things.” The others froze in their tracks, looking back and forth to each other. Their bodies were more still than the rocks that surrounded them. They floated for a few seconds, unmoving, waiting for a punchline that never came.

“You’re… not serious, are you?” asked the tuna.

“You do recognize that is a perilous decision, do you not?” chimed in the cod.

“You’ve no proof of that,” retorted the anchovy. “I’m sure all the other fish are prancing about in some sort of paradise right now. Is it really a good idea to stay here, all alone, while everyone else is positively thriving?”

They argued back and forth. A relentless cycle of logical argument and adamant response. All of the cod’s analytics and the tuna’s pleading was outright ignored. The smallest one just waited there. He said nothing. He knew there was no point arguing with one who could not be reasoned with.

“Of course none of you believe me,” muttered the anchovy, their dark eyes overflowing with despair. “But it doesn’t matter. I don’t need your approval to leave this sh*thole. You all can have fun dying alone while I live the life I truly deserve.”

They chanted to him one last time, nearly crying out his name. But he did not listen. He swam away. Lower and lower, past the horizon. Lower… and lower… and…

GLITTER

Three gathered that morning.

The light of the full moon shone on their glistening scales. The sunset’s palette suffocated the vast ocean with an aroma like fresh peaches before disappearing moments ago. The leaves drifting past the shore left subtle, brisk ripples on the surface of the water. Ripples that died as abruptly as they arrived.

“It is time for me to go,” said the cod. “Everyone else has been gone for so long. There must be a reason why they haven’t returned. I shall discover why that is.”

“Please don’t…” mumbled the tuna. “There are only three of us left. Countless friends have already gone—I don’t think I can bear losing you too…”

“Unfortunately, I just simply can’t believe that. That almost an entire reef’s worth of fish all just vanished like that—it’s utterly illogical.”

“Cod, I’m begging you to stay…” pleaded the tuna. “Don’t go, please…”

Again, the smallest one waited there. He said nothing. He knew there was no point arguing with one who already believed their logic was flawless.

“Not to worry. I swear one my life I shall return for you all. It’s getting late. I must depart.”

And so he swam away. Away from the reach of the tuna’s bellow. Lower and lower, past the horizon. Lower… and lower… and…

GLITTER

Two gathered that morning.

The chill of the water paralyzed their bodies. The murkiness of the ocean was their negligible defense against the feathered monsters who slept soundly just above their homes. The sea was noiseless and undisturbed—so much so that they thought they could hear their friends calling to them from beyond life itself.

“It is time for me to go,” said the tuna. “I… don’t think I can take it anymore… I have to find out what happened to our friends…”

Once again, the smallest one waited there.

“I don’t care anymore…” the tuna replied, trembling, their fragile body palpitating. “I… just want to see them once more…”

He said nothing. He knew there was no point arguing with one whose emotions completely blinded their reality.

“You… stay here. Never leave. When it comes to life or death, the risk almost always outweighs the reward. And right now, that doesn’t apply to me.”

And so the tuna swam away. Far, far faster than the others. Lower and lower, past the horizon. Lower… and lower… and…

GLITTER

One gathered that morning.

He could not feel the water today. He could not feel the life that once emanated from the black-and-white monochrome coral. The moon hid from him underneath a blanket of fog. Even the sky had fled by now.

He knew what would happen. But the seeds of doubt planted so long ago had flourished into a mighty oak. So he swam. Lower and lower, past the horizon. Lower… and lower… and he saw a light.

“Little fish,” the light said. “It’s been too long.”

All those before him had rushed to the light. But he was silent. He just waited there.

“Little fish… you feel like an outsider, do you not? You’re always falling behind. Always out of place. No fish knows why you’re here. Especially not you.”

Still, he said nothing. The legend’s mere existence had epiphanized him. For the first time, there was finally something of which he was uncertain. And that was whether he would live to swim another day.

“Blood orange scales… empty, pitch-black eyes… tell me, how did a freshwater goldfish end up at the deepest depths of the sea?”

The light had finally enslaved them all. The ones who swam just past the point of no return. The ones who cast out life preservers for their friends, only to get dragged down themselves. Every single one of them was captured; vanquished, by the light. The light of the anglerfish.

“Little fish. I have a promise to keep. You remember the hearsay. Warmth in deep darkness… Light at the edge of the world… Granting Salvation. Come a tad closer.”

He swam closer. Slowly but steadily. He knew what would happen. He knew there was no point. He knew there was no point running from a death unavoidable.

“Let me grant you… your salvation…”

GLITTER.

None gathered that morning.