Planet or Plastic

They say that we never know what is going to happen in life. When we will be born, when the biggest things in life would happen, or when we might die. Then the cycle repeats, and we don't even know when that's going to happen either. 

But we could almost know when we would die. I would know because I'm already dying. Slowly, slowly, because of something that I didn't know of even existed until it started making its way into the ocean. It seemed to look like one of the other animals that were there. But once the others came to it, we realized how much of a poison it was. And that happened to so many species. How about I tell my story?

~~~

That one day, a couple of months ago, changed my whole life. It was the day I finally turned fifteen years old, the day I was allowed to go out into the open ocean and be free. The fifteen years of my life before this was when I wasn't free at all. I tried to sneak out of the house sometimes, but Mother caught me, and obviously, I got punished. And having an angry Mother chase you around on land is not fun. Especially when I have turtle asthma.

I didn't understand why my Mother wouldn't allow me to go out hunting all by myself. I didn't understand, but later I did. And that would probably be the last time I'd be hunting.

That day, I was finally allowed to swim away and hunt alone. And I knew exactly where to go: The Great Barrier Reef has the best jellyfish in the whole world. Especially since it has shallow and warm water, all of the jellyfish would be there. 

I swam away to the shallow waters, admiring the heat that warmed my body and the sun that made the reefs and other animals under me shimmer. And as I moved towards that place, I finally saw what I was looking for. 

The white, dome-shaped hood looked soft and shimmered in the light, along with the two tentacles that stood out. It didn't seem to be moving too much, and it was a little colorful in some places than the other. Maybe it was a new type of jellyfish. 

When I clasped my mouth on it, I realized that I didn't feel the delicious sting, nor did the hood rip off. But as I said before, it might be a new species that came into town.

After eating that one jellyfish, I felt so full. It felt like I didn't even need to eat until a couple of days later. But little did I know that I wouldn't have to eat for the rest of my life.

~~~

Since then, I haven't eaten anything. I haven't felt hungry, at all. I didn't need to eat anything, and I didn't want to either. I knew I was going to die, but not this fast. Maybe it was supposed to be this way.