Fiction: Group 3
Freedom
St. Mary's Canossian College, Kwok, Mary - 13, Fiction: Group 3
miss the ocean, the ocean with endless clear blue water in whatever direction you look; the ocean
where I can leap out of the water freely, doing spins and flicking my tail; where I can swim after shoals
of fish and eat what I want. I miss my home. Most importantly I miss my freedom.
I was taken from my home a week ago. Some fishermen caught me in those nasty nets that they use to catch
fish. They brought me on to a ship. Just when I was about to escape, a few man came. They sedated me, so
I could not struggle or move. They lifted me into a tank of water that was barely big enough for me. They
took me into a big park where there were lots of noises and lots of people. Finally they took me into a dark
room which I did not like.
I had been trapped in this tank ever since. The water was disgusting. They had never cleaned it or even
bothered to change the water. It was warm and murky. I dare not swallow any of it for fear that I might die
of poisoning. People came at 12:00 every day and they threw me fish that had already gone bad. I hated this
place. I also hated those stupid humans who thought that they knew everything.
Suddenly, someone came. They took my tank to a larger room where I could see a large pool with other
dolphins. Then they lifted me into the pool. I did not struggle for I know they would sedate me if I did that.
I swam around the pool, exploring my new prison. I looked at the other dolphins. They had a faraway
expression on their faces as if they stared straight into blank space. I swam over to them and asked, ‘Hello,
do you know why I am here?’
They looked at me and for a moment they seemed to see me, but then they all rushed past me as if I wasn’t
there and swam headfirst towards the glass wall squealing excitedly, ‘I see it, I see it. Yes, it’s there, the sea.
It’s there, we’re home.’
‘Don’t they see they’re trapped here? Don’t they know where they are?’ I wondered. Then I realized they
had already lost themselves in this prison. They were mad. The longing of going back to where they belong
had driven them insane. Then I started to panic. Was I going to become one of them? Mindless creatures for
display? I looked at the people pressing their ugly faces against the glass wall and I knew I could not stay
here anymore. I must break free. I thought hard the whole night. Finally I came up with a plan. It was not a
very good plan, but it was the only chance.
When the man who fed us came the next morning, he saw me lying motionless at the bottom of the pool.
‘Hey!’ he yelled ‘Wake up! Here’s a nice bucket of fish for you.’
Then he poured the contents of the bucket into the pool. The other dolphins swarm around the disgusting,
slimy fish. This made me angry. But I reminded myself I must continue to play dead otherwise I would be
here forever. The man who fed us seemed to think I was dead. He went away to fetch someone to help.
After a while, some divers came. They observed me for a while. ‘Do you really think it’s dead?’ one of them
asked.
I
