Now we live in the empty sea. In the domes on the seabed. Nothing here but us folks, hiding from the topside burn. Everything else down here is dead. Fish. Plants. Little things that eat the dead things. None of that anymore. Now it’s just us.
Oh, and the coelacanth. There is still the coelacanth. It comes by, its scales a deep blue. Its eyes, empty. It swims slowly, as if lost in deep thought.
Does it know what we did? Sometimes, it feels like it’s waiting. But for what?
They say the coelacanth will always be here. I hope so.
Very nice. Love that “topside burn”, I shivered picturing the coelacanth swimming through the deep and of course, “Does it know what we did” was A+.
I agree. The “topside burn” is a catching image. I also love hat the coelacanth seems “lost in thought.” If you keep this going, I might play with POV. I think third person, limited or unlimited, might give you less subjectivity to navigate, reducing “wonder.” However, this is quite an imaginative story, and I enjoyed it.
This creates a whole world in 101 words and it leaves the reader speculating about the future. Great stuff.
Meditative and apocalyptic at the same time. Loved ‘topside burn’ too. The Coelacanth (a new word for me!) seems to me like our collective human conscience reflecting back at us. Wonderful.