Pescitarian
“I’m a pescitarian, and I came here to do more studies on your country and what it means to live here.” he gave you a very confused look, as if you didn’t seem to know fully what you were talking about. You surely didn't, but it’s not like you were going to let him know that.
“What do you mean. Pescitarian? What does that have to do with… You know what, okay that’s chill.” he said with a slight attitude you just barely began to pick up on. There was something about his demeanor which began to seem off to you, though you continued on as if nothing was wrong. “So you take part in the practice of eating fish huh?” he said to you sternly as you both sat to watch the river rushing by.
“Uhhh.” you said, unable to remember the meaning of the word. You don’t think you’ve even seen a cooked fish before, as your kingdom was mainly comprised of herbivores and scavengers.
“Well?!” he asked, barking at you more aggressively this time. “Are you going to give a straight answer?” he said.
“What’s it to you anyway?” you returned in an argumentative fashion.
“See, you may not know this because you’re new here, but our congregational building is how the village makes money. You see, we catch fish and sell it all over the region for their spiritual uses, the other kingdoms buy fishes in bulk to give them a good home, and therefore negating their negative karma. Some of the bad ones just simply eat them, and that’s not okay because here, to us, these fish are sacred.” you nodded with wide eyes, immediately you realized the state of this shanty little town, and how the other kingdoms were taking advantage of them.
All your life you knew it to be a fact that the other kingdoms ate fish, but where they came from was always unbeknownst to you. You felt as if the kingdom had been betrayed, but maybe you just gave them the wrong impression. For a moment, you do nothing but think; the silence was broken by your new friend’s voice.
“So you mean to say you… eat the fish? Rather than receive their blessings? Take care of them? Raise them as your own children? This was what we have been told all our lives.” your heart began to sink in your stomach.
“Oh wait… I-”
“No, it’s too late, you’ve already exposed yourself.” he seemed defensive. “Why would I believe you after using such sophisticated language.” your mind was racing as you watched him rise to his feet and tower over you. “I can tell that where you come from, you just do things differently. Well so do we...:” you didn’t have time to even process what he said before he gave you a hardy shove directly into the lake.
Your thick black fur was weighted down heavily with the powerful undertow beneath the rushing river waters. The strong torrent quickly pulled you underneath it's surface, helplessly as your body became battered against the hard jagged stones lodged far under the surface. Your lungs struggled to pull in enough air to keep your vision from fading into full darkness; it didn’t take long for your head to fully submerge for the last time. The last thing you remembered was the sharp burning in your chest as you breathed in mouthfuls of dirty river water.
Written by Driftingdragon on 03 September 2020
The end (for now)