Week 6 Story: Sheldon and his Wishes

 Underneath the ocean floors lie a wonderful array of animals, big and small. Some could swim faster than others, while some are better predators than others. There a single plankton, whose name was Sheldon, who spent most of his days floating around in the water, going with the current. Sheldon was a small lad, but he was kind to his neighbors, never wishing them any harm. Due to his kindness and luck, one day when he was sleeping, a bodiless voice in the distance reached out to him.

"Sheldon, I have been watching you closely and see that you are a creature without malice. For that, I want to reward you. I shall grant you three wishes with no exceptions," the voice spoke out to him.

Sheldon pondered for a long time. What does he want? Finally, he told the voice in the distance, "O bodiless voice, I wish to be a shrimp. Every day, these animals would try to hunt me down and consume me; however, I am lucky to have made it this far in my life. That luck will end one day, though. If I were to become a fish, I would be the happiest in the whole ocean!"

The voice granted his wish. In a bright flash, Sheldon could feel his body change. He became a shrimp and he never felt happier. However, his happiness did not last for long. As much as he did not fear shrimp or other small animals that size anymore, he became fearful of small fish! With the same feeling of fear of shrimp that he had when he was a single plankton, he had the same fear of small fishes now. He was angry with himself. He thought he had everything that he wanted, but now he has even more issues.

He cried out to the bodiless voice, "O bodiless voice, I wish to have one more wish for me to become a small fish!" Upon hearing this, the voice complied. Within moments, a flash blinded Sheldon, and became a small fish! He was again, the happiest in the ocean.

However, his happiness again did not last for very long, for now, he became fearful of sharks. With this, he again called out to the bodiless voice. "O bodiless voice, this will be my final wish. For my final wish, I wish to become a shark."

Again, the bodiless voice granted Sheldon his wish. With this, a sudden, yet familiar flash blinded Sheldon and he became a shark. Contrary to the other wishes, his happiness with being a shark lasted for a long time. However, it ended one day. One day, while swimming around the ocean, his heart was pierced with a long metal rod. He had swum too close to the surface and was killed by the fishermen on a boat. For a long time, he was the king of the ocean, hunting the fishes in his spare time. However, one unfortunate day, he became the hunted. 

Sheldon could not escape his destiny.

(Planktons Swimming. Source: National Geographic)

Author's Note: This story is a derivative of The Origin of Opium, a story from Folk-Tales of Bengal by Rev. Lal Behari Day. In the original story, the author talks about a Rishi and his mouse, which granted the mouse wishes from a mouse to a cat, to a dog, to an ape, to an elephant, and ultimately a queen. In a similar manner, I derived it in the sense of using the ocean food chain from a plankton, to a shrimp, to a small fish, and finally to a shark.