Trash. All the little penguin could see was trash. He wished for it to go away but it never did. It was always violent waves of garbage crashing onto the ice repetitively. He often heard his great uncle speak of when the oceans were clear, how blue they once were. No one ever believed him. The other penguins would often call him crazy, insane even, The little penguins father never wanted the great uncle near him. But one day, when his father was not looking, the little penguin was brave enough to ask him something.
"How blue was the ocean?" The little penguin waddled towards his great uncle.
"It was once as blue as the sky after a great sun set, or perhaps your mothers eyes...." His great uncle trailed off knowing mentioning his late mother was painful for the little penguin.
"Why did the ocean change? Does it not like us anymore?" The little penguin had tears in his eyes.
"No my child, have you ever heard of humans?" He asked sadly.
"Humans? What are they?" The little penguin asked.
"Terrible creatures. They are the ones who throw garbage in the ocean." The great uncle sighed
"Why? Why would they do that?" The little penguin cried
"Laziness, carelessness, some humans probably litter for fun. Most humans are just... Bad." He told the little penguin.
"Are there some good humans out there?" The little penguin asked. There were so many questions on his mind but only a few seemed to matter.
"Yes my child but not enough. Sometimes when one of us get trapped in plastic they will set us free, but.... other times we are too injured for them to heal us." His great uncle replied hesitantly.
"Is that what happened to mama?" The little penguin sniffled.
"I'm afraid so, little penguin. The garbage had gotten to her before the humans could." The great uncle was uncomfortable that he had to explain what happened to the little penguins mother. The little penguin had started to cry. As time eased into the evening he had calmed down.
"Is there anything I can do to prevent more of us from dying?" The little penguin choked out
"I wish we could do something but we cannot. Our fate lies with the humans decision to stop littering." The great uncle sighed and looked up to the evening sky.
"I wish I was never apart of this miserable planet." The little penguin whispered
"Me too..."
YOU ARE READING
#PlanetOrPlastic The Little Penguin
Short StoryA little penguin doesn't understand much about humans and their cruel natures. He wishes for Antarctica to be a better place like how his great uncle claimed it was many years ago...
