I was once again making my way through the Dark Forest. I scan the sky, searching for some sign of life, surprised to see only clouds and blue, blue, and more blue! No birds at all!

How strange, I think to myself. I shake my head to ignore the distractions and continue walking along an uncertain path to a glimmer of hope. Hmmm. An olive tree. A majestic, old olive tree. Would it really grant my wish? Would I really find a place to belong? Or had Rainbow just been lying to me? Or maybe she was delusional? Or maybe something would happen to the olive tree before I arrived? Maybe it would disappear somehow? Maybe a storm would hit? Maybe—

As if I had predicted the future, a tree suddenly went SNAP near me. SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! Went several more trees. I suddenly become more aware of my metallic heart beating, thundering, and screaming against my chest. My pulse doubles. I look around me, only to find trees splayed across the wet, dirty, slippery ground. A storm had struck. A storm had taken these ancient creatures down. What if the same happened to me?

I find myself sprinting through the forest, weaving a path between fallen trees and unstable ones. Lightning crackles above me, lighting up the gloomy, dark sky in flashes of white. It looked like a scene out of one of those sci-fi movies. Maybe it was. Grey clouds start gathering, letting out pelts of rain, drowning me and the forest in an inescapable torrent.

I quicken my pace, scanning the area, looking for some shelter. But all I could see were deers dashing left and right, birds flapping around like maniacs, and fish desperately trying to stay in their waterways as water threatened to flood their homes.

Wait. Fish…

Realisation hits me. My heart snaps in 2. Or maybe 3 or 4.

“Rainbow,” I whisper to myself, desperately blinking my eyes, trying to stop the tears that were coming.

I knew I couldn’t save all of the forest’s creatures as they fled the forest, looking for shelter. Most of them had already taken refuge in an underground den, or some other safe space.

But the fish hadn’t. And the fish couldn’t. And if I had to save one fish, I knew exactly who was worth it.

I suddenly run over to the stream and get down on my belly, ignoring the insects nearby that were chirping frantically, or the hooves that were trampling over me. Only one thing mattered right now. Saving Rainbow.

I imagine the same hooves trampling Rainbow and shudder.

I stretch out my arms over the stream, and hook them around a log on the other side. My eyes scan the bubbling, crashing water below me, and I flinch every time water splashes in my eyes. Good thing I was waterproof. Otherwise my cameras would go “WOMP WOMP” and I would never see again.

Suddenly, my sharp eyes glimpse a glimmer of coral, mint, and azure. Rainbow! I quickly retract my arms and pick up the fish, grinning as I realised it was still alive. Its tiny heart was pulsing against my fingers, and I sigh in relief as the confirmation washes over me.

The colourful fish fluttered her eyes open, and her pupils immediately landed on mine.

“Tori?” Rainbow said, confusion etched upon every scale on her face. She rubbed her big eyes with her flippers. “Are you okay?” She glanced at her surroundings, noticing the aftermath of the storm.

I hadn’t noticed that the chaos had ended. Trees were everywhere, broken, battered, and—I stop myself from finishing the saying. Trees couldn’t be bruised. I shake my head, and go back to viewing the environment. No distractions. Animals were poking their furry heads out of holes in the ground, looking around, checking to see if it was safe. Birds were desperately flying around, looking for a new home in what was left of the treetops. I feel a stab of sorrow hit me. And then another. And then another. Why was I becoming sad? This storm hadn’t exactly affected me, after all…

“Hello?” Rainbow asks, waving a flipper in front of my face. “Earth to Tori?”

I snap back to attention.

“I…I’m sorry. I was just thinking about…” I wave my arms around, hoping that would be enough to finish the sentence.

Rainbow sighed, then offered me a weak smile, small but genuine. “I get it. And… Thanks for saving me. If you hadn’t, I would be…” She closed her eyes, and bent her head back in a floppy way, sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth.

I let out a small chuckle, even though it wasn’t exactly appropriate for what Rainbow had just been miming. “No problem,” I say, winking. Suddenly, my eyes almost pop out of my head.

“Wait, how are you still alive? Don’t you need water to survive? You have gills, not lungs!”

I hastily drop Rainbow back into the stream, and she swerves around in circles, enjoying herself for a brief moment, before answering my question.

“Actually… I have gills and lungs. I don’t know how, and I don’t know why—that’s all my parents told me as I hatched out of my egg. Quite the contrary, right?”

I nod, slowly processing the information as it passes the gears in my forever ticking head. I stand up, brushing myself off.

“Well—I have to go now, I guess…” Rainbow mumbles, and my heart stops working for a moment.

“What?” I blurt out, interrupting her. “I mean, I’m sorry,” I say sheepishly, “but do you have to leave? I’ve only met you today and I’d love to get to know you better. You seem like a pretty nice friend for a fish as well. Do I have to leave you here?” I plead in anguish.

“Look, Tori, I’m really sorry, but I can’t just leave my family behind like that! It would be extremely selfish of me, and it would hurt them like nothing has ever hurt them before… Fin and Flipper need me, and so do Mum and Dad. I’m really happy I met you, but…”

Rainbow looked away, rapidly blinking her eyes, lost for words.

I stay quiet, before finally speaking.

“Actually… I’m sorry, Rainbow. It was really selfish of me to expect you to leave your whole life behind just because I wanted you to come with me on my adventure. I’m really really sorry,” I say once again, staring at my feet.

Rainbow looks me in the eyes, searching for something. A glimmer of sincerity. And then she smiled.

“I forgive you, don’t worry,” she says, her eyes twinkling. I smile back, my world once again blaring with light and happiness and hope and joy and… I couldn’t put all my feelings into words, even if I wanted to. So much for having a metallic heart.

“I really hope to see you again, Tori,” Rainbow says to me, getting ready to swim away downstream. “Count on another storm for us to meet!” She winked, and then plunged into the water, disappearing under the still blanket of water, leaving a trail of bubbles behind.

I wave goodbye to her, my heart beating against my chest even harder than before. And it wasn’t because I was scared that I had made the wrong choice. It was because I had made the right one, even knowing what it had cost me.