One Glimpse
Sequel-type drabble to The One That Got Away
Sometimes, he liked to let them catch a glimpse. A shimmer of fin, a tendril of hair, a flash of scales, a sliver of skin. Not all of them, of course, and never more than once. One look, one mystery to dream about, one memory of the endless sea. No matter how many times they came back, one glimpse was all they ever got.
Only once, he found himself tempted. Over time, he'd learned to tell them apart, but this one he knew. It came, again and again, never really looking for him, not like the others, but he knew, all the same.
It remembered him.
He followed it around for hours, watching, admiring the bubbles. It had learned as well. It learned to bring extra bubbles. The creature looked strange, when it had extra bubbles, but he didn't mind too much. He could watch the bubbles longer, even if they made the one producing them look... different.
Well, maybe he did mind, just a little.
What would happen, he wondered, if he pulled off the extra bubbles? How many bubbles did it have left before it had to return to the world above? He didn't want it to leave, but he did prefer the way the creature looked when it only had a few bubbles inside.
Although he wanted to, he did not pull off the creature's extra bubbles. He followed it around as it looked at things, then watched from within the kelp as the creature returned to its home, somewhere in the world above.
Tomorrow, others would come, and if he was feeling generous he might allow one or two of them a glimpse of him. But that was all they got. Though he might make an exception, just might, for the one who remembered him.
Sometimes, he liked to let them catch a glimpse. A shimmer of fin, a tendril of hair, a flash of scales, a sliver of skin. Not all of them, of course, and never more than once. One look, one mystery to dream about, one memory of the endless sea. No matter how many times they came back, one glimpse was all they ever got.
Only once, he found himself tempted. Over time, he'd learned to tell them apart, but this one he knew. It came, again and again, never really looking for him, not like the others, but he knew, all the same.
It remembered him.
He followed it around for hours, watching, admiring the bubbles. It had learned as well. It learned to bring extra bubbles. The creature looked strange, when it had extra bubbles, but he didn't mind too much. He could watch the bubbles longer, even if they made the one producing them look... different.
Well, maybe he did mind, just a little.
What would happen, he wondered, if he pulled off the extra bubbles? How many bubbles did it have left before it had to return to the world above? He didn't want it to leave, but he did prefer the way the creature looked when it only had a few bubbles inside.
Although he wanted to, he did not pull off the creature's extra bubbles. He followed it around as it looked at things, then watched from within the kelp as the creature returned to its home, somewhere in the world above.
Tomorrow, others would come, and if he was feeling generous he might allow one or two of them a glimpse of him. But that was all they got. Though he might make an exception, just might, for the one who remembered him.