Just Another Day

Tasura lead her a ways down the shore until they arrived at a seaside cave. He swam inside a little ways and walked up onto the sand inside.

"Where are we?" Shanku asked nervously.

"One of my favorite places," Tasura said. "Look."

The water flowed deep into the cave. There was an opening a little ways in through the ceiling where she could see the moon, and a stream of water flowed down in a small waterfall. But all on the cave walls were great pieces of shelf fungus that glowed with a cold, blue light. And on top of them crawled many luminescent caterpillars.

"Too bad you leave tomorrow. I can't give a proper tour," Tasura said sadly as he petted one of the caterpillars.

"But the ship does return. Doesn't it?" Shanku asked as she sat down in the sand. Even the little fish with their long, ribbon tails glowed in this cave.

"True. But it won't return until several months from now, and by then they will all have faded. Would you even remember this place next year?" Tasura asked as the caterpillar crawled up his arm.

"Oh, yes!" Shanku exclaimed as a moth emerged from one of the many barnacle-like cocoons built on the shelf fungus.

"I could take a raincheck," Tasura nodded and returned the caterpillar to the mushrooms. "Don't forget!"

I don't think I could, Shanku thought wistfully as she watched a few of the glowing moths flutter around each other.