Short Story

by Alicia Apostolu

A dense veil of smog mixed into the ocean, rendering most of it uninhabitable. In a tiny corner of the Pacific, one coral reef was somehow sustained.

"Why, what's happening? Can't I go out once? Please?" Wave asked.

"You know it's dangerous. Murky orange clouds, toxic water, dangerous heat. You can't go out now. No one has, not for decades." He sighed, and swam off, staring out into the murky darkness beyond the coral reef. A small creature, with a shell that looked and felt like a rock, tumbles onto a section of coral.

Wave stared at it gloomily. "Hello, Saigo."

"Hi, dolphin," it squeaked.

"I'm Wave, thanks. What's out there?" The Saigo were tough as they looked, and resembled rocks or pebbles. They could stand any conditions in the water, and brought news about the toxic ocean.

"And I'm Coral, thanks. So, you want to go out there? Well, don't - you won't last a day. It's too hot and toxic. And the water is sinking, making it even more toxic." With that, Coral left.

Why can't I go out? Wave thought. I want to leave the coral reef. It can't hurt if I go a little out. He thrashed around the edge of the reef, mixing the border with the ocean. Instantly, it grew hotter. Steam started bubbling, forming a magic cloud of semi-toxic, semi-magic water, taking Wave with it. Thrashing more, Wave desperately tried to get out, but he rose into the sky.

The cloud blew all over the world. From the bubble, Wave saw mountains and forests and ground and oceans and cities. It was more than anything he could've dreamed. It was like a coral reef in a million different shapes. He also saw massive clouds of yellow-gray, and red-tinted oceans. There were big patches of brown all over. In diminishing patches, it looked like a miracle, otherwise, a nightmare. Wave blew across the sky for seven years, witnessing the final elimination of Earth as a habitable place.

One day, years later, the cloud finally collected too much toxic water, and fell down the side of a mountain. Wave slid down, and, slimly protected by the little reef water, made his way back to his home.

"So you left." Coral, or another Saigo, greeted him. "They're gone. Some were rescued by humans. The water grew too toxic a couple years ago. Me and the other Saigo are the only ones left." He was right. The water had diminished to the size of a pool. The coral reef was destroyed. Only a few Saigos were there.

"I'm sorry," Wave was distressed.

"Look," Coral motioned up. There was something lifting up. Wave and the Saigos watched the last rocket take off.