I am but a small shrimp. Beneath the ocean I lay, unwilling to ever crawl. The end is nigh! And so I lay, this rock my grave. Darkness above, a swirl of sea foam which light does not escape. I see no wonders, no splendor - not even a parade. Alone I live, alone I die, alone I watch a figure walk past me, not an espy I crave. Who? Why? I cannot tell. But outstretched their arms go and a sweet melody come flow, "S○n! O' Mr S○n! Please, sh○ne down upon me!" A silly verse is met without recourse. And yet, I have no place to go, so I watch the likely chanteuse dare not despair. Recommence the solo, bringing forth their heart's desire! Days on end, a dozen ever further until so do disperse those cloudy waters, part ways the fickle foam and set forth the shining one! A heavenly moment, my little eyes witness. Gentle rays ballet, caressing their unveiled form. Hair, silver lined by tinge of blue, eyes beholden a luster... Nay! Gaze upon their soul within! Such delineation cannot even begin! Sudden breath escapes my lungs, a fear to be se en overcome. Yet, unnoticed I go as the figure - a she - swims gleefully away. Is it true? Have I gone mad? A chum like no other is just this way. I must proceed ahead! Or this life will be wholly mislead. Scurry along, little pereiopods, down the path less trodden; once enshrouded with foamy storm - 'twas recently undone by this radiant chum O' heavenly Selachii, behold now your corporeal physique; over their shoulder rests a fork of nobility, to which knapsack full of seaweed and rations hang. Emergency rations? Why, a Bloop! An artifact of wars long had. To what journey do you flow, chum I wish to know? Prevailing tales about you, and how you've grown. Joyful, sorrowful, such many a thing; everything about you, from how life came to be. Yet overhead, a shadow now creeps. Silhouette of a foe I dread - Orca, O' foulest beast; like a crack of thunder, tail shatters cliffside asunder. My chum! Lookout! But, words fail to flow - frail little chords taken their final toll. And so, with scrunched up rear, rapid takeoff I go. Flicking towards her hip with haste, collision nearly snaps my carapace. But enough force naught to succeed, as crumbling debris bury us completely. Terror, gasps - chum, don't fret! Not here, not now - my life be yours, instead. Hoist these stones, a ton they weigh; tail caught screaming, your fears allay. Chum, I am here... but please, hurry now. Such force, I reckon, is not meant for mere crustaceans. Ah, indeed snapped in two, my death resounds. She is safe, make no mistake. Such efforts were not for waste. Sublunary life of mine, your end is nigh. Once again I lay, this rock my grave. Fearful I am, though not for my mori - a vanished life beside you terrifies me with worry. What could have been, what could have se en... what might it be, to have your hand to cling. Memoirs of mine fade, the void do taketh - breathing my last, it was all so she'd make it... "O' small shrimp who saved me - even listened to my song. Dared not laugh, nor critique only silently did you creep. Within these hands I hold you, it is as I feared - forfeit your life, that I may be secure. Fought off the whale, though nipped my tail. Too bloody these waters, it is land I wish to sail. But, why must life vex me so? Naught much seems to matter. I hunger and pain, without much gain. It all feels so pointless, even in your mori. So, small shrimp - for your sacrifice, what have you obtained? Does everything still feel the same?" Weakly, my eyes open. Such beauty before me though bloodied and beaten, you radiate like a divine beacon. Into the eyes of unfathomable light I stare... Does heaven greet me within her glare? Ah, a smile - like none I've ever made before. Creeping across my cheeks, I finally feel at peace. Please, graciously allow me to say how I feel. To lose this precious chance would truly be ill. "O' chum, O' Selachii O' soul, so eau de Nil. Like brightest stars, a cosmos is born - within your eyes lies greater than our own. Reflect upon my ill lived life; had I known you'd come I'd have done just right. But there is only forward, and the time is present - so to you... each other, is what I say. Does any other feeling matter, in this crummy sea? I think not, for warmth is what we all need. I long to hold you, though that is now lost; so instead I shall bolster you, with all of my flesh. Consume my everything - it is all yours; my mind, my heart... my soul, ingest it all. My sacrifice is for you, because it is you I adore. Foolish, it may be? I suppose so. Yet these feelings stirring my soul, are all that I've ever owned. O' Dearest Sweetheart, I Love You." My chum accepts the earnest claim - gnawed and devoured by Selachii teeth, my death is most profound. I never once heard her name, nor gave mine... But, Same I shall call her, thus my soul will proclaim - for it means to 'listen well'. And so, I was finally heard. Fin
