The Great Blue-Bellied Jelly

By Kayla E. Green

Am I content to float alone?

In this vast universe, I’ve only known one other of my kind—my mother—and I only knew her for mere minutes before she vanished without a trace. I searched the entire perimeter of this water-based planet for her to no avail. Did she leave because her time was over when my existence came to be? Or am I having an existential crisis again?

I’m… not content to float. Alone.

I need excitement. Adventure! I need to feel alive.

No, I need someone like me to pass the years with as I drift around this planet’s rings.

Maybe I don’t have anyone like me because I deserve this loneliness.

Feeling myself going down a depressing path, I dive into the atmosphere of the planet and glide down to the surface of the great green oceans.

“Olti!” calls the little creature below the waves. I’m not sure why the creature picked that name for a great big space jellyfish like me, but I like it.

“Little one,” I say. “How goes it?”

The creature, which I call Dru, has long red hair and only two limbs. Dru is nice enough, but since it is stuck in the water, our relationship is limited.

Dru bobs along with the waves, something like worry etched in its eyebrows—I think. I can’t hope to accurately read emotion based on my limited interaction with its kind.

“Olti, we’ve picked up a signal. There are humans on their way,” it says.

“What is a human? Are they kind like you and your people?” The thought of meeting a new creature dismantles my monotonous contentment. Is this excitement?

“Humans are why you’re the last Great Blue-Bellied Jelly,” Dru whispers.

I deflate. “What do you mean?”

“There’s a human rumor that your jelly-layer will make a man immortal.”

“These creatures… eat space jellyfish?” I ask, incredulous. I feel nauseous. I want nothing more than to go back to circling the rings of this planet in ignorance of these evil space creatures.

Another creature pokes its head out of the water. It’s Iczes, Dru’s relative. “Olti, you should drift away from this planet, find somewhere to hide from the humans.”

“But how can something like me hide?” I gesture to my giant gelatinous form with two blue tentacles.

“Please, Olti. Hurry!” says Dru.

I gape at the two creatures. Reality slowly dawns.

I could be eaten!

“Thank you for warning me,” I say as I begin to sail back up into the atmosphere.

“Take care, Olti!” yells Iczes.

I sigh as I re-enter space. I should have gotten more information about these human creatures. Humans must be large—even larger than me—with great teeth that can slice through to my inner jelly! I shudder, sending ripples of electricity through my tentacles.

I wonder if humans are immune to electricity. They must be if they’ve eaten my kind into extinction. Another shiver runs through me.

In the distance, I see a small green dot. It quickly gets bigger as I stare. Is this the human? I panic, propelling myself in the opposite direction as fast as I can. I want to go back to floating aimlessly. I don’t want excitement. I don’t want to become human food!

I feel the creature creeping closer. I can’t outrun it.

What will my death feel like? Will I finally understand what my mother felt when she disappeared?

No, I won’t think like that. I’ve got to stay and fight!

I turn and face the human. It is large—much larger than Dru or Iczes, but smaller than me—dark green, and ugly. It almost has a shimmer to it as its skin reflects distant stars. It rumbles low as it moves toward me.

“Stay back!” I call. “Or I’ll electrocute you!” Waves of electricity jolt down my tentacles.

The human hovers in front of me. I don’t think it understands. But maybe it does? It isn’t moving any closer.

A mouth opens on the creature. I expect to see rows of angry teeth, but instead a little blue blob exits. It’s smaller than Dru, who is already quite petite.

It’s—it’s a space jellyfish, like me!

It floats to me timidly.

I can’t contain my bubbling awe and wonder. “Hello! I’m Olti. What’s your name?”

“Hi, Olti. The humans call me Penelope,” says the jelly in an airy, sing-song fashion.

Slowly, the human backs away. I don’t trust it, but I’m enraptured by Penelope’s presence. “The human brought you here? It didn’t try to eat you?”

Her voice wavers. “These humans, the Federated Corps, Battalion M-83, Science Division”—she gestures to the human that deposited her—“saved me when my family was attacked by poachers. They said they could take me to my kind, and here you are!”

Penelope rushes toward me and envelops me with her tentacles, her small frame nearly covered by one of my own tentacles. I feel something new within me—is this hope?

I watch in awe as the supposedly vicious human creature—the one that brought me Penelope—begins to leave. The human had the potential to destroy us, but chose mercy instead.

Now, I’m truly content to float. No longer alone.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kayla E. Green is a writer and poet in eastern North Carolina. Her favorite genre to read and write is fantasy. In addition to being an avid reader and writer, Kayla is a book blogger, bookstagrammer, and amateur photographer. She enjoys arts and crafts, singing loudly and off-key to KLove Radio, and taking naps. Kayla’s first collection of poetry, Metamorphosis, is now available on Amazon.

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