Abraham Donne

The day that Fluffers died, there were many strange faces out in the far lands beyond the glass.  The goldfish watched in amazement as dozens of the walking giants ran and leaped through the air.  There were so many of them!  Usually there was just two, and none of the fish were certain if the Humans had multiplied or if there was a somewhere else, something that existed further out than the land beyond the glass.

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It was late in the afternoon that the children came over to see the fish, to rule them.  The fish knew that they were always at the mercy of their Human gods, that these giants controlled their lives.  They had never known anything different.  That was, until Fluffers decided to fight back.

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The Humans sprinkled down the glorious golden flakes that came from the Jar of Nourishment.  Softly, they tumbled through the water like falling leaves and the fish all scrambled to get as much as they could.  Fluffers, however, had been in the bottom of the aquarium, not paying attention to what was happening around him.  By the time he saw the feeding, it was too late.  The food was gone before he made it halfway to the surface.

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Fluffer swam to the top of the bowl.  He flashed his fins, he spun.  He even puffed up his cheeks, an act that normally made the gods erupt with laughter.  But the Humans were cruel today.  Today, there was no food for Fluffers, and some of the new Gods mocked his flashy motions.  They mocked him!

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“No!” he screamed, his gills flaring.  “I’m hungry!  They didn't feed us at all yesterday, and we have suffered.  All I do is work to please them.  They're my life!  And now they laugh at me?  Well, not today.  Today, Fluffers will make history.  Today, a fish will fight for what he deserves!”

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And with that, Fluffers threw himself upwards, his tail waving back and forth like no fish had ever seen before.  A blur of motion, Fluffers flew from the lidless tank and hurtled towards the Jar of Nourishment!  The rest of the fish watched him in horror,  To leave the water was forbidden, and the Humans would kill you for such a trespass.  But Fluffers did not care.  Landing with a wet slap next to the Jar, he struggled to move towards it.  The Humans looked at him, one of them laughing harder as it pointed with cruel glee.  They mocked Fluffers, but he didn't stop.  He was determined to make it to the Jar, even if it killed him.

 

He was nearly there, his body leaving a wet trail across the hard surface.  The laughter had died down now; the Humans watched him silently. 

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Undaunted, even by his obvious difficulty, Fluffers moved ever closer.  But before he could reach it, just as he was about to lay his fins upon it, down came the demon Cuddles.

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The Humans tolerated Cuddles, though none of the denizens of the Aquarium understood why.  Cruel and heartless, Cuddles seemed to live to torment them.  More times than they could count, he'd swept his long arm down, striking at them with his giant claws.  His big ears heard all, and when angered he let out a demon cry: a shrill hiss that seemed to echo out forever.  With no water to protect him, Fluffers found himself wholly at Cuddles mercy.

 

And Cuddles was not kind.

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With a quick swip of his paw, Cuddles knocked Fluffers back up against the glass.  The Humans were divided about this, some angry at Cuddles and others cheering him on.  Fluffers stared at them through the glass, his former friends and companions.  He had been one of them once, safe and warm in his watery home.  His mouth gulped open, one last word leaving his wide lips, “Goodbye.”  A moment later, he was snatched up in the mouth of the fell, furry demon and carried away.  Fluffers was dead.

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*     *     *

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The Human children vanished.  Then, what was left of Fluffers had been sent to the Ocean by passage through the Great Bowl.  Such was the passing to the afterlife.  All fish knew that they would one day face the yawning chasm of the Bowl, its swirling waters a torrent that no fish could fight.  No fish had ever returned from the Bowl, and all feared its deafening roar as it sucked down yet another scaly corpse.

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After seeing what had happened to Fluffers, Francis had a revelation.  There was no reason to fear the Bowl any more.  They would all face it, all of them.  None were safe.  Eventually, the Humans always brought tragedy and death.  It was time that this torment came to an end.

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*     *     *

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Francis plotted.  All through the night, while the other fish drifted lazily by the soft amber glow of the nightlight, he schemed.  If the Revolution was to succeed, it would take the most careful and diligent planning.  There was no room for error here.  No slip-ups.

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By morning, Francis had his plan.

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The other fish were groggy that faithful morning.  But Francis was not in a hurry.  It would take time, a great deal of time, before his plans were complete.  And no matter how hard they worked, they were still at the mercy of the Humans, who must never learn what was being plotted in the Aquarium by the Wall.

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Once everyone was awake, Francis called them over to the far corner behind the Castle and the plastic weeds. All at once, Francis found himself nervous, his stomach aching as he watched the others mingle.  They knew that something was out of place today, and all of them looked to Francis to answer their fears.  Taking in a deep gulp, Francis forced himself forward.  Despite the pain in his stomach and the fears in his mind, he spoke.  The Aquarium was never the same.

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“Good fish of Aquaium, yesterday was a sad day for us all.”

 

The others murmered in agreement.  They may not have liked Fluffers, but no one wanted him dead.  And certainly not by Cuddles.  That was too cruel a fate for any fish. 

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“But though Fluffers may be dead, his actions shall live for eternity.  Today, we must strive to follow in his brave example, for though he was killed, he did something that none of us has dared do before: he fought back.

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“You see my brothers, only when I saw him struggling against his shackles did I realized that I too was chained, that I too was in bondage.  We are all prisoners here, trapped in this pestilential prison for all of our lives.  We sit here, only waiting to be cast into the Great Bowl and Beyond.  And while no one knows what lies on past the Bowl. I know what I believe.

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“I see a shimmering city, pillars of coral stretching high into the clouds.  There are fish there in endless multitudes.  Tropical, Gold, freshwater, saltwater.  These distinctions, which mean so much to us here in the Aquarium mean nothing to those beyond the Bowl.  All go through the same journey, and I see them all together.  I see a world where a guppy and a Japanese Fighting Fish swim along the current together, neither having any hate or malice.  They sing together in a glorious chorus.  For beyond the Bowl, they understand something that we forgot; we are all brothers.

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“Do we not all share the same basic hopes and dreams, do we not all breath the same water?  If you hook us, do we not bleed?

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"Well, my brothers, we have lived in bondage for too long.  You are all of you enslaved, as I am, by the Humans that live in the Land Beyond the Glass.  But these panes are actually a massive net that binds us. 

 

"I’m tired of begging for attention, I’m tired of fighting for food.  There are places beyond this.  Places where food grows all around us, where no one to laughs at us or mocks us as we struggle.  Many of you know of the place I speak.  It is called, the Ocean.”

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From the back there was a derisive snort, “The Ocean?  Come on Francis, that’s just a myth and you know it.  There’s no such place.”

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“There IS such a place, Bubbles!  Have you not seen the others in the Saltwater Aquarium?  Have you never wondered why we are kept separate.  These fish, like us, live in slavery.  The only thing that separates us is not some minerals in our water.  No!  It is that they KNOW they are slaves.  They have seen the Ocean, they have experienced it.  And it can be ours, my brothers.

 

"If we just float here, we might as well cast ourselves upon the counter with Fluffers, because it all leads to the same place: The Bowl.  And if we die fighting for our freedom, then what have we lost?  A few more days being mocked by Humans?  Another near-death experience at the paws of Cuddles?  Well, I think that it's a small price to pay for a chance at salvation.  Who’s with me?”

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“Yay!” cheered the fish, “Down with the Humans!”

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“But what will you do?” asked Bubbles.  “The Humans will never let you escape.”

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“I know,” said Francis.  “That's why we're going to kill them.”

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Bubbles, the great skeptic himself, was shocked.  His eyes narrowed in disbelief.  “Kill the Humans?” he asked.  “How can you kill a Human?”

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“That, my friend, is exactly what we are going to find out.”

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*     *     *

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The fish heard Francis’ plan, and they were amazed.  It was such an amazing idea, why had no one ever though of it before.  For generations, for their entire span of history, tales of Cuddles cruelty had spread far and wide.  It had been that beast, it’s fur in a Calico pattern of death, that had murdered Fluffers.  But once, long ago, one of the Japanese Fighting Fish had lashed out at the demon and hurt its paw.  For weeks, there had been no attacks, no deaths...no Cuddles. 

 

If Cuddles was mortal, if he could be killed, than anything was possible.

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The plan itself was simple.  At first the fish worried that once the Humans saw what they had done, the Revolution would be quashed.  But Francis was right, they had nothing to lose.  And besides, he told them, the Humans thought so little of the Fish that they'd never believe that these poor creatures were responsible for what was happening.  Not until it was too late.

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When he said this, the fish knew that he was right.  They remembered the Great Famine of the Long Weekend that had claimed so many lives, they remembered the countless others who had been scooped up and placed in small plastic prisons, taken away and never heard from again.

 

The Humans thought nothing of the fish, and so the fish could be blamed for nothing.

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Francis needed a volunteer.  One brave soul who would sacrifice themself for the cause.  When he asked, he had hoped that perhaps Polka-Dot or Dribble would volunteer, for they were both nearly as old as he and had lived a good long life.  But it was Nutter, one of the youngest fish in the Aquarium, that raised his fin.

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*     *     *

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Two days later, the fish were ready.  The Humans always vanished during the middle of the day, vanishing for hours on end.  This was the chance the Fish needed, when the Demon Cuddles would be out prowling.

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Guppy spotted Cuddles in the early afternoon, the white and brown fur moving lazily across the Living Room, the largest expanse of the Land Beyond the Aquarium.  Francis prepared Nutter, who sat afraid by the side of the glass.

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“This is a brave thing you do,” he said.  “You shall be remembered for generations to come.  And in World Beyond the Bowl, you will swim with our forefathers.”

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“Do you really believe what you said, Francis?  About the Ocean and the Land Beyond the Bowl?”

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Francis nodded, “I do.  And there is singing, Nutter.  Soon you will sing with them, and your voice will be mighty.”

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“I’m scared, Francis,” Nutter said, his gills puffing.

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Francis ran his right fin over the young fish’s scales, “Of course you are.  I'd be concerned if you weren’t.  But you are going to a better place than we live in now, and because of your sacrifice, our people will live free.

 

"Remember, without sacrifice, we would have nothing.  There are other worlds than these, and we need only to fight for them to make them ours.  You are our future, Nutter.  You are our strength.”

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Nutter smiled meekly, “Thanks Francis.  I feel better now.”

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The two sat in silence before Guppy finally exclaimed, “He’s walking this way!”

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Francis looked to Nutter, who took in a deep breath of water.

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“Well, here I go,” he said.

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“Let Fluffers know that we did this for him,” Francis said.

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“I will,” Nutter replied, “I will.”

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*     *     *

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With a great splash, Nutter flung himself from the water, landing on the shelf above the Aquarium, just as Francis had instructed.  To land that high was crucial, and from there Nutter had to scream and flop to get Cuddles attention.  There would be no way to keep Cuddles from attacking the defenseless fish, but it would put the cat in position.  It would give them a chance at freedom. 

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Nutter had been out of the bowl for two minutes, and Cuddles hadn’t moved.  His wide eyes saw the little guy, but he was a cautious beast.  Lacking compassion, it trusted nothing as it moved slowly forward, its head low to the ground.  The other fish tried to remain calm, tried to be as motionless as possible so that the demon’s attention would be fixed on Nutter.

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With a surge, the cat threw himself upward, flying high into the air in a way that the fish didn’t even believe possible.  Some of them saw this and despaired, for the Beast was stronger than they had feared.  But for the others, seeing it charge at poor Nutter only gave them more courage.  It was time that this life of fear and doubt came to an end.  Fluffers and Francis had given them strength.  Now, they were going to use it.

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Nutter continued to flop on the shelf, and to get up there, Cuddles had to balance itself carefully on the rim of the Aquarium.  Testing its strength, he slowly moved upward, his gaping mouth full of teeth so long that they could pass all the way through a full-grown fish.  As he did so, his long tail dangled close to the water’s surface.

 

Such a simple, elegant thing, that tail.  It gave Cuddles the agility and confidence he needed to be such a fearsome predator, and it was ironic that this very strength would be his downfall.

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When he was over the rim, there was a moment where some of the fish wanted to jump up immediately, but Francis ordered them to hold.  They had to wait for the opportune moment; the timing had to be perfect.  Just before he'd struck Fluffers, Cuddles’ tail went rigid and straight.  That was the time to strike, when all his focus was drawn to one spot.

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The tail stopped quivering, and Francis swept his fins forward, calling his brothers to action.  In a flurry of motion, they swam to the gravel bottom and pulled out the long, woven fibers of seaweed and plastic plants.  Tipsy, the fastest of them all, took the lead edge and swam it in a quick spiral, making a noose.  This was the difficult part, for if he was not perfect, they would never get another chance.  But Tipsy’s work was flawless, and the rest of the fish surged forward with Francis at the lead.  As hard as they could, they pushed and lept from the water, all of them flying in different directions.

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The noose wrapped around the fur-covered tail in an instant, and before Cuddles could even meow in response, the fish all fell back down, all together tugging and hitting the water swimming.  Now, they must struggle against the giant Beast.  The Cat, whose attention had been devoutly following Nutter, was suddenly pulled down into the Aquarium.  That was where that the true battle began.

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As soon as he hit the water, Cuddles lashed out angrily.  But the fish were ready.  Loops of seaweed were pulled upwards, encircling his head and paws.  The other ends were lashed to varying points, the No Fishing Sign, the Castle.  There was even one lashed to the bottom tube of the filter, which bent dangerously as Cuddles thrashed against his bonds.  But the weight was too much, and even as he tried to fight, Cuddles found himself pulled beneath the water.  He bucked and hissed and thrashed, orbs of air streaming from his nose and mouth.  His eyes were wide and angry, glowing with a fury never seen before.

 

The fish struggled to stay out of the way, but there was only so much room in the Aquarium.  Polka-Dot screamed as the claw ran down her side.  Francis winced when he saw Cuddles paw slam down on Dora, who had tried to swim down low to escape.  With a sickening crunch, she was gone.

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But the deaths were not in vain.  After a few desperate minutes, the thrashing diminished and finally stopped, the angry glow fading as the eyes grew dark and lifeless.  They had won.  The fish cheered and yelled, but Francis was quick to quiet them.  There was something they needed to honor, he told them, for this fight had not been without blood.  All of them looked to the high shelf and saw the limp fins hanging from above.  The Beast had been vanquished, but Nutter was dead.

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Nutter was taken away along with Cuddles.  The Humans seemed greatly troubled by his death, but Francis had been right: they never suspected the fish.  Soon, all was set right again as smaller, shorter plants were placed in the Aquarium.  Still, the fish knew now that those outside the Bowl were mortal.  And so Francis plotted to kill them.  Kill them all.

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The plan for the humans was far more simple than that for the demon Cuddles, but it followed the same basic principle.  On the day of the Revolution, the fish would spring from the Aquarium and would make the floor slippery and wet.  When the Humans walked on it, they would tumble to the ground and the fish would use more rope to strangle them.  Once that was done, there was nothing standing in the way of the glorious lands of the Ocean.

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As the fish all waited, ready for their moment of victory, Francis swam before them.

 

“Friends, Countrymen, and fellow Chordata.  We swim today on a precipice of hope.  Today, many of us may perish as the brave warriors who have gone before us.  Fluffers, Polka-Dot, and Dora are lost now.  And most of all, we must remember Nutter, who so bravely sacrificed himself that we might live a better life.  For them, we must never give in, must never surrender.  Their bravery must give us strength.  They may be able to kill us, but if we are free, they can never contain us!”

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The other fish cheered, and so all was ready.  Tipsy and Dribble were readying the last of the ropes, and guppy kept a weather eye on the horizon. 

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Late in the afternoon, the Humans returned home.  They entered the Land Beyond the Glass, but they paid little attention to where they stepped.  This was their moment of weakness.

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This was it, and Francis felt giddy.  All of it was coming true, better than he'd dared hope.  They would be free soon, they would be beyond this world.  When all was ready, he gave the word and all of them charged, twenty-five goldfish in total, tossing themselves out of the Aquarium and down to the floor.  They flopped forward, determine to succeed.  That was, at least, until it all went terribly wrong.

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Francis at first thought that is was the sudden change that made it so difficult.  Ignoring all else, he charged forward because he knew what must be done.  But soon it was undeniable, something was wrong.  Dribble had fallen behind now, flopping weakly near their starting point, while others began to slow as their gills grew a pale blue.  The air was harsh and dry, but Francis fought against it, tried to breathe regardless.  But he could not, and soon he watched in horror as his friends began to falter and stop.  Off in the distance, Dribble lay still.

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‘No’ Francis, thought, ‘It can’t end like this.  Not like this!  We’ve come so far, fought so hard!  I won’t let it, I won’t give in, even if it kills me!’

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And so Francis continued forward.  Some of those who had stopped moving saw him and tried to follow his brave example.  But they could not, not for long.  Soon they too could do little else but flop around the floor, gasping for air.  Finally Francis too had to admit defeat, and he lay on his side, certain that soon the end would come.

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But he was in luck.  Around him, the floorboards dipped slightly, and some of the water that had splashed on the floor pooled in this one spot.  Sticking his face in, Francis breathed in the glorious water.  There wasn’t much, and he knew it wouldn’t last for long, but he was alive!

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Perhaps there was still hope, perhaps, somehow, they could continue to fight.

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*     *     *

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An hour passed before Elizabeth came back into the living room.  She pulled off her uncomfortable work shoes and slipped on her more comfortable-

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Elizabeth stopped mid-thought, turning to her side to stare at the floor.  Everywhere she looked, the fish lay limp and pathetic, scattered as if they'd been tossed in the air.

 

Her first instinct was to cry.  She loved her fish, loved them all so much.  Even though the kids thought it was silly, she was proud of her aquariums.  And after the cat had drowned a week ago, she'd wondered if she should expand her collection of fish.  But now, staring at the surreal field of death,  Elizabeth took a deep breath and went to get some paper towels.

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They were all dead.  Picking them up and piling them in her hand, Elizabeth wondered what had gone wrong with the animals around here.  It had been going on ever since Josh’s birthday party, when the cat had gotten a fish from the aquarium.  It was the strangest thing, and Elizabeth wondered if maybe she should call the APL.

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*     *     *

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Francis struggled to hold on as the pile of them were carried away.  The others were dead, but he lived on.  It was then that he realized where he was going, and he trembled in fear.  The Great Bowl loomed large in the distance, coming closer every second.  Soon, he would be sucked down and it would all become dark. 

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Francis was scared, and he wondered what he had done to deserve this.  Was it so wrong to want to be free?  No, he told himself, he would not be afraid.  Others before had willfully jumped into oblivion, and he owed it to Fluffers and Nutter to accept his death with the same dignity he'd seen in them.  As he was dropped down, Francis didn’t even breathe when he landed in the cold water.  And as he was swirled around, sucked down towards the gaping, raging maw below, Francis thought he heard singing.