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Matsya
I stood at the stern of the cruise ship Amalthea, looking back at the wake of the vessel, and the setting sun, and beyond into the past, for the future had lost all its luster. The ring she’d returned to me was a leaden weight I turned over and over in my pocket. No matter how I viewed it, hope had drained away and the only way out for me was the dull gray sea.
I got up on the rail, shook my head, and leapt over. For a minute of terror I was caught in the churning wake left by the propellers of the tremendous ship and was very nearly sucked in. Only by luck was I spared, gasping and paddling in the foamy water, as the ship left me rapidly behind.
Too late, I started to cry after it, for someone to notice me and toss a life preserver and turn the ship around, for I was cold and the water slapped my face without rest. This was not the romantic suicide I had envisioned in my head, slipping away into the enveloping waters with a few tragic bubbles to mark my passing; this was the counterpoint, for the shock of the cold bitter water and the horror of nearly being shredded and the panic of perpetually being half-drowned had only rekindled my urge to live, just past the point when I had foolishly put myself beyond hope of rescue. In the morning the stewards might notice my absence at breakfast; I could not last even another hour.
I cast off my shoes and clothes and let them sink, the gold wedding ring vanishing with them, and the cold waters bit into my flesh, weakening me as I strove to swim. Spitting salt water from my mouth, I babbled and would have prayed had I any faith; lacking the same, I spoke, not to any god in particular but the sea at large, and the repeated answer was another wave in my face and more seawater inside me.
As I chattered and swam, I heard a voice within me, in words of a language I did not speak, but which conveyed meaning to me all the same.
It has been so long. Shall we? Let us see what comes of it.
I did not pay close attention, as I gagged on the water, but soon I felt a pressure below me, the water growing warmer. The waves were disrupted, and I looked down and cried out, for in the red rays of the setting sun I saw something below me, something as large as the Almathea, growing as it rose towards me, its giant mouth opened, eyes locking to me!
I screamed and in my pathetic panic tried to swim away, though I had no more hope of escape than a moth to dodge the grill of a truck. But the ocean waters swelled like a hill and pushed me away as the creature surfaced, a mammoth fish, broad with flattened head and curling fins, golden as the sunrise. Almost naked, I cowered in the water at the sight, and heard again the voice that had meaning without words.
As Manu saved me, and permitted me to grow, so I now save you, little one. But should you survive, I shall call upon you to preserve my life in turn.
I blinked away the salt water and my tears. “I am most grateful, and shall do what I can… but what can one as small as I do to save one like you?”
We shall see how you develop over time. Either you shall grow into your own power, or you may learn to harness the power of others, I cannot tell… But your heart is torn right now, and you must start anew by learning to trust once more. Come to me now.
The fish opened its gigantic maw once again. I saw its teeth were golden as well, and there seemed to be a gentle glow deep inside it. I floated for a moment, shivering and feeling my heart wringing with fear inside me.
But then I left it behind me, as I had let the golden ring go to sink to the bottom of the sea, and I swam forward, passing between those giant golden teeth as the fish's jaws closed down.
I got up on the rail, shook my head, and leapt over. For a minute of terror I was caught in the churning wake left by the propellers of the tremendous ship and was very nearly sucked in. Only by luck was I spared, gasping and paddling in the foamy water, as the ship left me rapidly behind.
Too late, I started to cry after it, for someone to notice me and toss a life preserver and turn the ship around, for I was cold and the water slapped my face without rest. This was not the romantic suicide I had envisioned in my head, slipping away into the enveloping waters with a few tragic bubbles to mark my passing; this was the counterpoint, for the shock of the cold bitter water and the horror of nearly being shredded and the panic of perpetually being half-drowned had only rekindled my urge to live, just past the point when I had foolishly put myself beyond hope of rescue. In the morning the stewards might notice my absence at breakfast; I could not last even another hour.
I cast off my shoes and clothes and let them sink, the gold wedding ring vanishing with them, and the cold waters bit into my flesh, weakening me as I strove to swim. Spitting salt water from my mouth, I babbled and would have prayed had I any faith; lacking the same, I spoke, not to any god in particular but the sea at large, and the repeated answer was another wave in my face and more seawater inside me.
As I chattered and swam, I heard a voice within me, in words of a language I did not speak, but which conveyed meaning to me all the same.
It has been so long. Shall we? Let us see what comes of it.
I did not pay close attention, as I gagged on the water, but soon I felt a pressure below me, the water growing warmer. The waves were disrupted, and I looked down and cried out, for in the red rays of the setting sun I saw something below me, something as large as the Almathea, growing as it rose towards me, its giant mouth opened, eyes locking to me!
I screamed and in my pathetic panic tried to swim away, though I had no more hope of escape than a moth to dodge the grill of a truck. But the ocean waters swelled like a hill and pushed me away as the creature surfaced, a mammoth fish, broad with flattened head and curling fins, golden as the sunrise. Almost naked, I cowered in the water at the sight, and heard again the voice that had meaning without words.
As Manu saved me, and permitted me to grow, so I now save you, little one. But should you survive, I shall call upon you to preserve my life in turn.
I blinked away the salt water and my tears. “I am most grateful, and shall do what I can… but what can one as small as I do to save one like you?”
We shall see how you develop over time. Either you shall grow into your own power, or you may learn to harness the power of others, I cannot tell… But your heart is torn right now, and you must start anew by learning to trust once more. Come to me now.
The fish opened its gigantic maw once again. I saw its teeth were golden as well, and there seemed to be a gentle glow deep inside it. I floated for a moment, shivering and feeling my heart wringing with fear inside me.
But then I left it behind me, as I had let the golden ring go to sink to the bottom of the sea, and I swam forward, passing between those giant golden teeth as the fish's jaws closed down.
Chomp? I guess?
First thing I want to get out of the way is the ending. I’m not sure if I’m reading it correct, but did our protagonist just get his arm munched on by the fish? (We don't have a name, so that's all I can muster). What I’m saying though is that the ending is hard to parse, but that could easily be my trash comprehension skills.
There is also a part of me that thinks this is referencing something. Some clues that lead me in are the title of the piece or the referenced character, Manu, but other than that, I'm stumped.
Still though, this is a good piece. I’ve heard through reddit stories of people who survived suicide attempts get mid-way through their attempt and then have the clarity of the ‘I don’t want to die!’ rush from the survival instincts kicking in. This definitely illustrates it.
You feel a bit of the protagonist’s pain as they leapt off the boat. Then, you could feel the panic of trying to avoid being flayed by the rotors or drowning. Two different contrasts that bring this story to life.
As always, this is a crappy Pinoy review, so take it with a grain of salt. Thanks for writing!
First thing I want to get out of the way is the ending. I’m not sure if I’m reading it correct, but did our protagonist just get his arm munched on by the fish? (We don't have a name, so that's all I can muster). What I’m saying though is that the ending is hard to parse, but that could easily be my trash comprehension skills.
There is also a part of me that thinks this is referencing something. Some clues that lead me in are the title of the piece or the referenced character, Manu, but other than that, I'm stumped.
Still though, this is a good piece. I’ve heard through reddit stories of people who survived suicide attempts get mid-way through their attempt and then have the clarity of the ‘I don’t want to die!’ rush from the survival instincts kicking in. This definitely illustrates it.
You feel a bit of the protagonist’s pain as they leapt off the boat. Then, you could feel the panic of trying to avoid being flayed by the rotors or drowning. Two different contrasts that bring this story to life.
As always, this is a crappy Pinoy review, so take it with a grain of salt. Thanks for writing!
First I just want to say that I love this style of prose. It's elegiac, and almost old-timey in nature yet it never reaches the point of obnoxiousness, and it makes the story itself so much fun to read.
This is interesting to me as I'm not familiar with Hindu legends at all, so on my first read before looking anything up I got a Lovecraftian vibe from the story. In this read the ambiguous ending worked very well with the tone I got from the story, although I was a little confused as to why the fish would be tricking the narrator, as it was established the fish was big enough to just eat them without pacifying them first. Looking up the character names made the vibe of the story more positive for me, to the point where I'm not entirely sure what gave the narrator a bad feeling. I mean obviously diving into a fish's mouth wouldn't feel good but it plants a seed of doubt in the reader and I'm a little unsure where the seed of doubt would be heading.
It could also be that this is meant to be both, where it applies a Lovecraftian frame to traditional Hindu lore, which I think is a really interesting synthesis and mimics Lovecraft's own story about the Canaanite god Dagon. That said, I could imagine some Hindi's might not like this interpretation.
I think for the most part this story has a good ambiguity that gives me a lot to think about but I would also love to read how others feel about it. (I also looked up the name Amalthea, so I think the boat is a stand in for the character's mother but I'm having trouble putting together that symbolism with the rest of the story.)
One last thing is a bit of a nitpick, but "I got up on the rail, shook my head, and leapt over. For a minute of terror I was caught in the churning wake left by the propellers" skips the narrator landing in the water and it made me feel like I missed something the first time I read it.
This is interesting to me as I'm not familiar with Hindu legends at all, so on my first read before looking anything up I got a Lovecraftian vibe from the story. In this read the ambiguous ending worked very well with the tone I got from the story, although I was a little confused as to why the fish would be tricking the narrator, as it was established the fish was big enough to just eat them without pacifying them first. Looking up the character names made the vibe of the story more positive for me, to the point where I'm not entirely sure what gave the narrator a bad feeling. I mean obviously diving into a fish's mouth wouldn't feel good but it plants a seed of doubt in the reader and I'm a little unsure where the seed of doubt would be heading.
It could also be that this is meant to be both, where it applies a Lovecraftian frame to traditional Hindu lore, which I think is a really interesting synthesis and mimics Lovecraft's own story about the Canaanite god Dagon. That said, I could imagine some Hindi's might not like this interpretation.
I think for the most part this story has a good ambiguity that gives me a lot to think about but I would also love to read how others feel about it. (I also looked up the name Amalthea, so I think the boat is a stand in for the character's mother but I'm having trouble putting together that symbolism with the rest of the story.)
One last thing is a bit of a nitpick, but "I got up on the rail, shook my head, and leapt over. For a minute of terror I was caught in the churning wake left by the propellers" skips the narrator landing in the water and it made me feel like I missed something the first time I read it.