Ode to My Jellyfish
When I was 3 I was bit by a jellyfish. Traumatized me for life. I couldn't get into a natural body of water for years. Still, to this day, if I step on a rock I flip out.
So, in Puerto Rico, as I was sitting on the beach, shoulder-deep in water, contemplating the complexities of life, what do I see floating in the water next to me, not a foot away from my right hand? A. FUCKING. JELLYFISH.
I jump out of the water in a frantic scare, and watch as it pulses in the water, softly and calmly, as though it's in it's fucking living room. Noticing children jumping all around, I grabbed the plastic cup that had contained my Diet Coke, dumped out the soda in the sand then rushed back to the water's edge. Using a stick and the cup, I guided the jellyfish into the cup and carried it back to my beach towel, where I proceeded to watch it.
It turned upside-down in the cup several times, which made me think that it was dying. I held it there, for thirty minutes, a hostage to my desired revenge, and watched it menacingly, thinking of all the aweful things I could do to it. But as time passed on and I held it there in my hand, I realized - no. I was the reasoning being in the relationship, and I should do the right thing.
I would set the jellyfish free.
Eyeing the coast, I saw a long pier that led out, far from the beach, into the open ocean. In my trunks and my sandals I carried the plastic cup and it's cnidarian inhabitant towards the pier. Traversing the pier with the cup in my hands, I made sure that the jellyfish remained upright and felt a weight being lifted off of my shoulders - I was doing the right thing.
Once at the end of the pier, I glanced down into the water, which was twelve feet below. The waves were placid and the waters clear - small green tropical fish swimming near the surface. Tilting the cup slightly to pour out the water and the jellyfish, I said goodbye and wished him a long life.
SPLASH!
Jellyfish hit the water, freedom at last! But, as quickly as he had hit the water, hundreds of larger fish swam to the surface, all reaching for a bite of the morsel that had landed in their midst. Horrified I watched as within seconds he was completely gone from sight, from life, and from the mercy that I had falsely though I had provided.
So much for being the bigger person.
So, in Puerto Rico, as I was sitting on the beach, shoulder-deep in water, contemplating the complexities of life, what do I see floating in the water next to me, not a foot away from my right hand? A. FUCKING. JELLYFISH.
I jump out of the water in a frantic scare, and watch as it pulses in the water, softly and calmly, as though it's in it's fucking living room. Noticing children jumping all around, I grabbed the plastic cup that had contained my Diet Coke, dumped out the soda in the sand then rushed back to the water's edge. Using a stick and the cup, I guided the jellyfish into the cup and carried it back to my beach towel, where I proceeded to watch it.
It turned upside-down in the cup several times, which made me think that it was dying. I held it there, for thirty minutes, a hostage to my desired revenge, and watched it menacingly, thinking of all the aweful things I could do to it. But as time passed on and I held it there in my hand, I realized - no. I was the reasoning being in the relationship, and I should do the right thing.
I would set the jellyfish free.
Eyeing the coast, I saw a long pier that led out, far from the beach, into the open ocean. In my trunks and my sandals I carried the plastic cup and it's cnidarian inhabitant towards the pier. Traversing the pier with the cup in my hands, I made sure that the jellyfish remained upright and felt a weight being lifted off of my shoulders - I was doing the right thing.
Once at the end of the pier, I glanced down into the water, which was twelve feet below. The waves were placid and the waters clear - small green tropical fish swimming near the surface. Tilting the cup slightly to pour out the water and the jellyfish, I said goodbye and wished him a long life.
SPLASH!
Jellyfish hit the water, freedom at last! But, as quickly as he had hit the water, hundreds of larger fish swam to the surface, all reaching for a bite of the morsel that had landed in their midst. Horrified I watched as within seconds he was completely gone from sight, from life, and from the mercy that I had falsely though I had provided.
So much for being the bigger person.