Fiction: Group 3
I nodded again.
‘Let me show you something,’ the prawn said, grinning at my confusion.
I followed him to a secluded stone wall behind a forest of seaweed, and it took me a second to realize that
it’s the wall of a massive water dam. I gasped as I saw the large curling whirlpool towering in front of me.
‘Listen! This whirlpool goes fast enough to warp time. What you have to do is leap into the whirlpool at
the moment it turns anti-clockwise; which happens once a day. Once you dive into the water, you have to
count to three. Then swim back out to the open water right that second and you’ll be in the past!’
What? I couldn’t catch up! How would a whirlpool take me back in time? That wasn’t the least bit possible.
“When you get to the past, you have to return before the tide lowers, or you’ll vanish into thin air!” he said
with a grave look on his face.
‘What happens if I stay in the whirlpool longer than the count of three?’ I asked, puzzled.
‘Then of course you go further back in the past!’ he said as though he expected me to know. ‘Now go! It’s
turning anti-clockwise!’
‘And why should I trust you?!’ Who in the right mind would entrust their life to a stranger? Let alone when
the stranger is telling you to do something absolutely impossible?
‘Kid, you either trust me or you’ll end up in the stomach of a carp!
YOUR
choice!’ urged the prawn as he
shrugged.
My heart was pounding fast in my chest as I swam closer to the whirling mass of water, hesitating. ‘Sylvester,
it’s your only chance. Your
only
chance.’ I closed my eyes to block out my thoughts, and off I went hurling
into the whirlpool.
‘One….. Two…… Three!’ I said aloud, but I couldn’t swim out of the whirlpool. It was my tail! My
damaged tail made it impossible for me to accelerate. With every second I used trying to get myself to swim
properly, I was probably going further back into the past! I flicked my tail with all the strength I could
muster, yelling for help even if I knew none would come.
I finally shot out of the whirlpool, three seconds late, and way further back in the past than I intended to go.
The whole world was spinning as I tried to steady myself. I breathed in. Wow. The water smelled so fresh -
even fragrant. It’s weird to describe water as fragrant, but….wow. It smelled like what a river should smell,
not of garbage and sewage, but of seaweed and freshness. As soon as the water stopped spinning, I could see
miles away. The water was so clear, with sunlight almost penetrating to reach the sandy river bed. Fish were
everywhere, giggling, talking, so jolly and gay. It was like a dream, like someone had locked me out of
heaven all my life.
I just floated there, wanting to breathe in every last particle of air, take in every single drop of sunlight. I
wanted to stay in the past. Who cares if the tide lowers and I cease to exist? Bad things always happened to
me; I was a failure.
It was when I saw a crab helping a young fish off the ground when something clicked.
Was I really that unimportant?
Could my friend Corey still be alive if I had not told him not to be tempted by the large silver hook? He
would have gone straight for it if I hadn’t warned him. Could Billy’s dreams have been possible if I hadn’t
lent him my seaweed parchment for his exam?
That’s when I realized. The world needed me, and I existed for a reason. I was never a failure.
I still hadn’t found my companions! The prawn told me to get back before the tide lowered and the water
level was decreasing rapidly. I had approximately five minutes. I rushed back to the dam, but not before I
bumped into a baby fish. ‘Sorry!’ I yelled, and swam over to check on him. Wait a minute. Had I met him
before? The baby fish… he looked so familiar.
‘Where are you from, uncle?’ he asked, his innocent green eyes baring into me.
‘I’m from the future. What’s your name?’
‘My name is Sylvester. What’s yours?’
I was startled but I forced myself to rush back into the whirlpool, bracing myself for a mad chase between a
giant carp and a bunch of tiny herring.
