Remarkably Bright Creatures EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Author: Shelby Van Pelt
- Language: English
- Genre: Fiction
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Day 1,299 of My Captivity
DARKNESS SUITS ME.
Each evening, I await the click of the overhead lights, leaving only the
glow from the main tank. Not perfect, but close enough.
Almost-darkness, like the middle-bottom of the sea. I lived there before I
was captured and imprisoned. I cannot remember, yet I can still taste the
untamed currents of the cold open water. Darkness runs through my blood.
Who am I, you ask? My name is Marcellus, but most humans do not call
me that. Typically, they call me that guy. For example: Look at that guy—
there he is—you can just see his tentacles behind the rock.
I am a giant Pacific octopus. I know this from the plaque on the wall
beside my enclosure.
I know what you are thinking. Yes, I can read. I can do many things you
would not expect.
The plaque states other facts: my size, preferred diet, and where I might
live were I not a prisoner here. It mentions my intellectual prowess and
penchant for cleverness, which for some reason seems a surprise to humans:
Octopuses are remarkably bright creatures, it says. It warns the humans of
my camouflage, tells them to take extra care in looking for me in case I have
disguised myself to match the sand.
The plaque does not state that I am named Marcellus. But the human
called Terry, the one who runs this aquarium, sometimes shares this with the
visitors who gather near my tank. See him back there? His name’s Marcellus.
He’s a special guy.
A special guy. Indeed.
Terry’s small daughter chose my name. Marcellus McSquiddles, in full.
Yes, it is a preposterous name. It leads many humans to assume I am a squid,
which is an insult of the worst sort.
How shall you refer to me, you ask? Well, that is up to you. Perhaps you
will default to calling me that guy, like the rest of them. I hope not, but I will
not hold it against you. You are only human, after all.
I must advise you that our time together may be brief. The plaque states
one additional piece of information: the average life span of a giant Pacific
octopus. Four years.
My life span: four years—1,460 days.
I was brought here as a juvenile. I shall die here, in this tank. At the very
most, one hundred and sixty days remain until my sentence is complete.
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