A bad dream could turn into a epiphany.
I'm participating of Nathional Geographic and Wattpad's writting contest: Planet or Plastic.
I include a spanish version of the story for my readers.
Spanish: Asfixia.
Una pesadilla puede convertirse en una ep...
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Last night I dreamed I was swimming in a blue reef. It's been a while since I've taken a vacation and I've got finally relaxed. I've never been able to explain the sensation that water causes me when it rubs my skin. It's like it caresses me sweetly and I'd return the gesture. Like I'd find the meaning of life with the movement of every drop. At that moment, I thought everything was real, so I let myself be carried away by the sound of waves and the aroma of saltpeter.
Suddenly, a wave covered me and a supernatural force pushed me deep into the ocean. I began to fear for my life, but strangely enough, I could breathe underwater and swim as gracefully as a dolphin. My vision was also excellent. From that wave, different fish species came out, welcoming me, and they all brought me gifts to celebrate my presence. There were clownfish, surgeonfish, seahorses, octopuses, turtles, crabs, jellyfish, stingray, whales, seals and other species so beautiful and colorful they would dazzle anyone.
When I saw those gifts, I noticed they were objects of daily use for humans but useless for marine life. There were buttons, bottles, disposable tableware, shoes, computer parts, nets, tires, motor blades, and endless things made of plastic. And from one moment to the next, I found myself surrounded by so much rubbish as to build an aquatic castle with a throne and the whole thing. But everything was messy, and the fish kept bringing me their gifts faster and faster; even the seahorses did what they could with their little tails. And soon I was covered in garbage, the nets caught my arms, the tires kept my feet on the bottom. I could no longer see the fish and the bags... they were all kinds of bags floated towards me and stuck to my body, suffocating me. I didn't feel the water in my skin anymore, nor the oxygen in my lungs. Everything faded to black.
I woke up on the floor, coughing and spitting water. My trachea was burning and I was agitated. I looked around and found that I was safe in my room. Me at least, 'cause if that were a marine animal habitat, it would have suffocated with that much plastic garbage I had scattered all over the place.
Then I understood: what was a dream for me it's the constant reality for other living beings. Although, perhaps, it wasn't just a dream.
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