The Waves of Dusk
A small girl walks with her mother through the encased ocean.
A few small crabs trek over massive coral mountains as slugs and snails slide on the seafloor, scavenging empty shells. Academies of Oscar and Molly fish tread through the floating forests frolicing with the stillwater. Moon and Crystal jellyfish jive through a star-dotted deepsea while eagle rays rise above them.
…
The girl presses her face onto one of the empty tanks.
…
…
A swirly dolphin whirls down to her.
“Bah-bin!” she says as she points. The dolphin twirls, projecting a skirt of underwater waves. The girl giggles. The dolphin capers again. The girl laughs again.
The dolphin watches the girl as she twirls a few times.
…
The girl walks back up to the dolphin’s ocean. They watch each other.
Their heads dip together. She giggles. The dolphin blows a ring at her; it bursts as it touches the glass. The girl tries blowing at the glass. The dolphin smiles.
And swims around; spinning through growing rings of air and swiveling about branching coral mountains. The girl smiles and laughs as she watches the dolphin twirl through the tank.
“Let’s go honey,” the mother says.
“Buh bah-bin.” The girl points to the dolphin as her mother guides her away.
“I’m sorry honey, but mommy just feels a little unsafe here.”
The girl waves to the dolphin.
The dolphin tries to catch up to her; he turns around, jumps out of the water, and chirps to the girl as they leave.
Tiger sharks sneak through the waving savannah, watching the other oceans of slithering oarfish and windowpane oysters. Beluga whales wade through the waters, whistling to waddling tourists while Bowheads beguile with polar bears and penguins.
