A Path of Flowerwreaths: Chapter 1

There was only ever darkness, for Senka. Ever since she hatched out of the egg, there was nothing but darkness and sound, the awkward tapping around with her body, her fins, to get around. Feeding off the leftovers of others, sunk to the bottom of the caves, because no one ever taught her how to hunt. She didn't know who her parents were, or if she even had any. Even if she had, they must've disowned her the moment they saw her, her torn-up fins, her blind eyes, her long canines that she used to cut herself with a lot before she learnt how to avoid them.

Sometimes there were others. There were young pups who didn't know any better and came into the caves, the deepest and darkest caves, to explore, running screaming for the lighter waters when they stumbled upon the lonely creature that lived there. Then came pups and adults who were curious about the vampire, the beast, the horrible abomination of nature. She was a freak, Senka knew that. She has heard that enough.

She did not see, but she learnt to feel the shifting of water around her body to know when someone was nearby. She felt that now, and she turned in the direction.

"Who's there?" she asked, bracing herself for the shock and humiliation that followed most interactions.

"It's me, I'm Mochi," came the reply.

"I do not see you," Senka admitted, wondering who this Mochi was. She didn't disturb the water much, so she must not be too big, the abyssal thought.

"Nor do I. You were born without sight, just like I was, weren't you? We make quite a pair then. Who are you? You sound nice, but sad," Mochi observed. Senka was struck speechless for a second - another aqrion, like her? One who lived in darkness?

"Yes. I was born alone and in darkness. My name is Senka, but you might know me as a beast, a freak, a vampire," she replied to Mochi. There was silence on the other end of the conversation, and Senka thought that maybe Mochi left without her feelings the soft underwater currents of the other's movement, but then the other female spoke up again.

"That's a horrible thing to call someone. You are no beast, Senka, no matter what anyone else says," she said. "Do you want to come and make flower wreaths with me?"

"But what use are flowers for me? Or a wreath? Or anything? I can't see the colors. I can't see anything."

"You can't see, but you can touch. And even if you can't see the wreath, others can, and maybe it can help them see the beautiful soul hidden inside you," Mochi said. Senka felt her swim closer, felt the soft warmth of someone rubbing up to her, comforting her. She felt how small Mochi's body was, felt the hard plates on the small aqrion's back.

"I have talked to a lot of others, even those who could see me. They told me I was beautiful, they told me of the colors and the iridescence that comes off me when the rays of the sun shine on me. Other than their kind words and their effort to paint an image of me, colors have no meaning to me, shine has no meaning to me. I don't see the sun as the rays, I rather feel the warmer waters it causes. I can still feel the world around me, and I can use my words to build bridges between myself and others. There's still a lot of worth we can experience, and a lot of worth we can add to the lives of others," Mochi explained. Senka listened to it with wonder, imagining a world where she wasn't a sick curiousity, something to hate, rather, she was something, someone, who could make connection with others, who was worthy of being cherished and befriended. It was such a new thought, and held so much hope, that Senka found herself suddenly wanting it with a strength that scared her.

"That indeed sounds like a beautiful thing," she whispered.

"Do you want to come and make flower wreaths with me?" Mochi asked again. This time, Senka said yes, and Mochi told her to follow her. Careful not to bump into the sides of the cave, Senka followed Mochi's tracks in the water, trusting the other, small aqrion. She felt the water get a tiny bit warmer as they must've travelled out of the deep depths of the caves and canyons, and she was worried how she'd get back to her hideout, but dared not voice it to Mochi. Finally, the other aqrion stopped.

"Look, here's a flower," Mochi said, and Senka felt something touch her snout. She felt the hardness of the other aqrion's nose, it was hard and curved, like a beak, but it carefully held something that was soft and fragile. Senka took it carefully, remembering the times she was so starved that she tried to eat something of similar texture, something like seaweed. It tasted horrible, but at least kept her alive until she found some more leftovers to keep her strength up.

"There you go. Now, you have to work with me here, twist the long, flexible end of your flower and my flower so they solidly attach. If we do it well and enough, you get a circles of the flowers and it becomes wearable. It's pretty, others say, but I just like how soft it feels," Mochi said. Senka agreed with her, it sure would be lovely to have something soft and silky on her body, then, under the instruction of the other aqrion, she started learning how to cooperate with another being to make something. It was possibly the happiest she's ever been - here was another aqrion, one who didn't shy away from her or call her names, and they could talk and work and it was all so peaceful. Senka forgot all about being a beast or a freak, at least for a little while, as she listened to Mochi, to the story of her life, and to the story of a lot of aqrions who were different and needed some help to find their way.

"There you go. It's ready now," Mochi said after a while. Senka wasn't sure how the other aqrion could know such a thing, but Mochi surely was a lot more experienced in making wreaths, so she believed her. The other aqrion helped the wreath be placed around her neck, and indeed, the soft petals against her thick skin were a beautiful feeling, probably much better than just looking at her creation, were she able to see.

"Now, my dear, you have learnt something valuable today, didn't you? Just because you can't see, doesn't mean you can't find your way in this life. You are beautiful indeed, I heard that right at the beginning, and if you keep learning, the differences between you and others will diminish a lot. But you have to learn, do you hear me?" Mochi summarized their time together. Senka yet again agreed with the other, and promised that if she got the opportunity, if anyone else would be as kind as Mochi to teach her, she'd learn, she'd do anything and everything to overcome her reputation.

"Let me teach you how to find your way back to your cave, now," the other aqrion offered, pleased with her response. That day, Senka didn't only learn how to make soft flower wreaths and how to work together with someone, but she was taught navigation, and she kept the flower wreath until it withered away into nothing to remind her of Mochi's kindness and of the new, beautiful path that she wanted to follow.