I
I am a dolphin. I have lungs.
The fish judge me for coming to the surface, they say I shouldn't need to
"Maybe you're a land animal" they suggest but my body is useless on land
They "help" me by pushing my body onto the shore and I'm immediately hit with an overwhelming heat
I feel dizzy and hot. I feel like I might pass out.
It's overwhelming but I can't move myself back into the water
The mammals find me there roasting in the sun
"You're just dehydrated. Everything needs water" they say as they try to shove it down my throat
But that's not the problem and that's not helping
They roll their eyes as I burn "You're just being dramatic"
I can't move to respond I'm so close to passing out and I know I won't wake up
Begrudgingly they push me back into the water and relief washes over me as the water cools me down
"Dumb fish" they mutter and they walk away
II
When the fish find me they're annoyed.
"I thought you had lungs?" They poke and prod me with questions I don't have the answer to
"We were helping you. Did you even try?"
Their words burn more than any sun and I wonder if the mammals were right.
Is that what it's like to live on land?
But then I remembered the unbearable heat and the feeling of death quickly approaching
I'd don't think I could handle going through that again
And so I continue to live in the ocean
It's never bothered me as I am an excellent swimmer
I love ocean life and as I swim and zip around I start to chirp with joy
But eventually my lungs burn, I need air
I try to ignore it but I know deep down that I can't
No matter how much I will it away, I still find myself breaching the surface and gasping for air
III
The fish sent me to someone
They're supposed to teach me how to breathe underwater
They don't know that I don't have gills and no matter what I do I will never breathe in the water the way they do
They don't listen, they don't believe me, they call me lazy.
They push and they push even going as far as to try to cut "gills" into my sides
It doesn't work and I'm tired
So I learn to hold my breath. I learn to hide myself when I go up for air. I learn to lie.
They seem happy enough and finally leave me alone.
They rant and they bost about how the figured out a "cure" for lungs
They're all idiots because they don't see
That at the end of the day
I'm still a dolphin, and I have lungs
