Wings of Empathy
As waves settle, they give way for rocks to stand confidently above the water. The albatross, oyster clamped in its beak, lands on one of the few rocks that gather together, just meters from the shore. Unsuccessful slams against the rock lead the albatross to toss the oyster in the air and as it projects downward and breaks open by striking the rock, it falls right into the ocean.
The albatross dunks her head in the water and spots her oyster sinking beyond sight suspiciously. Squinting through the sting of the salty waters, the albatross also notices a minuscule yet quick creature with scales mixed of silver and green and a tail like a paint brush that had been slightly dipped in red. The diminutive body, oyster in mouth, sped past all other fish on her way to disappearing into the deep blue.
About halfway through the day, the sun lands directly over the ocean, and all creatures beneath the surface have clear sight of those above it. The glare, bouncing right off the outward layer, does not allow those above the surface any sight beside their own reflection. A master opportunist, the fish, a harlequin rasbora, awaits underneath said surface and capitalizes on any error, skipping what would otherwise be a considerably harder scavenge.
The albatross, standing over the water, looking at its own face reflected, perks her head upward when she hears another bird attempting to crack an oyster a few rocks away. As her eyes fix onto the scene, the albatross imagines her beak trapping the tiny thief as soon as that shell slips into the water. As the oyster descends through the air and smacks the rock, the albatross lunges from its position and dives towards it. The harlequin, shell secured but noticing the large creature’s impending attack, moved her fins in desperation through banks, rocks and coral to get away from the surface. Squeezing through a crease and bending around one final big rock, she gets back safely to her mother.
Flying right above the surface but dunking her head in the water in search of the fish, the albatross was determined to continue the chase despite having lost track of the bandit. As she persisted in her search, the albatross made a turn around a rock and spotted her target. Nestled in between two big rocks lay a sandy space where the harlequin was finishing a shelter made of the shells she has collected. A fish of the same type, except its color more worn and faded, and slower in their movements, dawdled inside it.
The albatross surfaced to breathe, shake all the water on its head, and turn her beak towards the sun to warm up. Three birds flew over her line of sight at that moment. The smaller two had unrhythmic flops to their wings and their gliding was unstable, while the third one, significantly bigger, alternated from flying in front to behind them as they all swirled the skies over and over again. It was not rare to see parents jump starting their fledglings early, especially during this season, in preparation for the looming migration.
Returning to the same spot the next day, the albatross took a breath and dunked her head in once again.
Overlooking the area, she noticed the harlequin bringing bits of food into the shelter. Initially docile, the grains of sand surrounding the shelter started vibrating with increasing ferocity. In the distance, two starfish playing and tussling through the coral, took turns knocking each other, and collaterally most other things in their path, down. Noticing their direct trail towards the newly built shack but unable to give any signals down to the harlequin, the albatross took her head out of the water in a panic.
Deep breaths settled her nerves, and gathering the courage to peek into the water once again, a curtain of falling sand was all the harlequin could manage to see. As the sand trickled down, an array of shells laid splattered. In pronounced head swivels, the albatross finds the harlequin tending to the aftermath of the crash which included the fish she accompanied yesterday, and what she could estimate to be around 15 fish eggs.
With her mother and soon to be siblings accounted for, the harlequin proceeds to gather the shell pieces attempting to rebuild her fort. Piece after another, she noticed that some had chipped, bent or broken beyond utility. Despair sat on her shoulders and washed her over in defeat.
Looking over to the damage, the harlequin knew the shelter needed to be remade, so she hurled herself upward once again.
The more she neared the surface, the more her sight shifted from side to side, scanning for any birds cracking oysters open. She spotted one almost immediately but as soon as she grabbed onto the fallen shell, the bird reached down and caught the harlequin’s tail. As she dangled, the harlequin swayed her scaled body from side to side in attempts to free herself. As the bird sends the minuscule creature into the air, through her spinning, blurry vision, the harlequin could make out a wide open beak awaiting gravity to deposit her inside of it.
Reaching the beak, eyes closed, all the harlequin could think about were the shells missing for her mother’s shelter to protect the eggs. Entering the mouth of the bird and making her way down to its stomach, a surprising breeze struck her.
Afraid to look but curious to see, she opened her eyes to find herself by the mouth of another bird, propelling through the air. On second look, she recognized the albatross she had stolen from the day before. A croak startled the harlequin, who, looking behind them noticed the bird that had intended to eat her just seconds ago, chasing them eerily closely. The preying bird’s eyes were fixated, its wings striking, with a beak that was pointed forward, piercing through the air.
In the midst of the flight, the harlequin drops into the water again. She stumbles through the coral and only stops as she lands right onto the pile of shells. Shaking her head until she regains her senses, she widens her eyes to realize she’s right back where her shelter, her mother, and the eggs are.
A shell, presumed to have shot upward from the harlequin's plunge, hits the harlequin in the head who reactively begins to rebuild the shelter. With a deep sigh, clutching her fins closed, the harlequin readied to brave the surface again - until another shell fell right behind her.
This time, she noticed the shell’s trail in the water, lining all the way towards the surface. Before lifting her face completely, down came dancing another shell. And soon after, another one. Meeting them as they fell, the harlequin managed to prop up a new shelter around the eggs.
Looking up as she finished, she saw the albatross’ silhouette on the surface, traced by the glare of the sun. As her heavy eyes, sore muscles and exhausted spirit gathered enough strength to get her inside the shelter, the harlequin dropped into sleep.
Waking up to rapid but soft movements all around her, in intermittent openings of her eyes, she noticed some of the eggs had gone missing. Her jolt ruffles sand up from the ocean floor. As it dissipates and settles, a group of newborns swam around her.
Day after day, the harlequin browsed the surface but did not see signs of the albatross. Seasons passed and the harlequin remained in her reef. As the sun returned for longer hours each day, and temperatures rose, birds started flocking the same rocks the harlequin used to stalk, which had been underwater for some time but now their peaks sat above the surface once again.
Most of the newborns had grown into functional fish, and their mother prepared them all to migrate to a new reef with better coral and more sustainable life. On their way, the harlequin took count of the group only to realize one of her siblings had strayed back. Swimming back to grab them, as she reaches their home to herd the young one back to the group, she notices a single shell in the distance, whirling downward through the coral. Sending her sibling onward, the harlequin fixated on the shell, slowly dropping through the water. She then noticed another shell imitating its trajectory some distance away.
As the family awaited the return of the straggling fish and the harlequin, there was shared confusion as only one of the two appeared in the distance.
The albatross, flying sharply over the ocean, raced its own reflection, released oyster shells into the water in hopes they would reach the harlequin. She could not see the harlequin swimming on par with her, and directly underneath the surface, looking up at her friend.