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There once was a jellyfish lost in the sea,
Destined to live a lonely life.
Floating by, no thoughts or mind,
It willed itself to go day and night.
Quite contrary to their name, jellyfish are not actually fish. They are invertebrates, lacking any backbones or even a brain, much unlike the vertebrate fish they so haughtily steal their name from. They sting without any real knowledge or intention, and their only real purpose in life is to just survive. Perhaps that’s the reason Jess related so dearly to them.
But then a shark came in her way,
With jaws so fierce and dimpled gills.
The jellyfish squirmed beneath their gaze,
When she noticed their noses met, completely still.
Jess learned three things from her years at school:
One: Never speak when not spoken to (people don’t like when you butt in.)
Two: Drawing attention is a big no (their eyes feel like needles prodding beneath tense skin.)
And three: Getting through school is such a chore (must be why jellyfish do it mindlessly.)
It was when Jess adopted this “jellyfish” persona that she met Sam: The girl with the most beautiful smile she had ever seen, and a light to her that could rival newborn stars. Behind messy bangs, a curious gaze met her own, and the sight made Jess’s heart drown in the fluttery feeling that suddenly filled her chest.
It turns out that they, too, needed a friend,
Though such weakness they never showed.
And soon the jellyfish began to fall in love,
Even without a heart to call her own.
Jess had a gut feeling that Sam was a little bit like her. Maybe not exactly– everyone in their class knew Sam (she just so naturally lit up a room)-- but similar, nonetheless. Though she had many friends, there was always a slight break in her voice whenever she initiated conversation, imperceptible if not listened close too. Despite her bright smile, something in her eyes always betrayed whatever feelings she tried so desperately hard to hide.
Maybe that’s why Sam never cut her bangs.
Whatever the reason, it only reminded Jess more of a shark. A weird comparison, but hear her out. Much like how a shark is judged as ferocious, remorseless, a creature to be feared, Jess often heard such rash assumptions directed toward Sam. Maybe not nearly as callous, but hasty nevertheless.
That she was the happiest person they knew, the most extroverted, the most confident. That they wish that they had their life as put together as her. That her life was virtually perfect.
The days she spent on a quiet pier underneath faint stars and a fading sunset only proved to Jess how little Sam’s “friends” knew about her.
But most of all, Jess knew, at the end of the day, there was one last, little thing that Sam and sharks had in common.
They both would do anything to protect themselves.
In a way, Jess always knew she would.
She begged her friend to never leave,
To hold her in a warm embrace.
But currents soon washed her friend away,
And left her in cold’s familiar waste.
Being around Sam gave Jess warmth that she did not even know was possible. She felt it in the ways her lips would only tug up at the sight of Sam, the way her ears heated up from the faintest of touches, and the way she longed for the chance to hold Sam in her arms and never let go. She knew her heart had been lured like a fish to an angler’s light, and despite all the logic in her head screaming at her that she should really, really move on, she found herself instead caught in that high, in Sam’s incandescent light.
So that’s why, when she heard of Sam’s plans to move to Massachusetts, she was willing to move there too.
“You… really don’t have to Jess.”
Sam spoke quieter than normal.
“No, I don’t mind,” Jess said, “The views are prettier here.” There were no windows in the room they were in.
“Jess, really. You wouldn’t like it here.”
“How do you know?”
“Trust me, you wouldn’t.”
There was an air of finality in her voice.
“You’ve always seemed more of a Florida gal, anyway…” Sam corrected her tone. “We’ll keep in touch okay?”
And when Sam looked her way again, she did not meet Jess’s eyes. Not in the slightest, not at all. She just looked down as if waiting for something to wash her away.
Jess never knew that rejection could sting that much.