Once upon a time, there was a Scorpion and a Fish. They lived on land and in the ocean respectively. Not content with where they were, together they go on an adventure to get where they want to be…

One sunny day both were on the beach, the Scorpion on the sand dreaming of a life in the water and the Fish wondering what it would be like to be out of the water and on land. Both caught up in their respective daydreams, they slowly drifted closer and closer to one another. When the tide was at its highest, the Scorpion and the Fish were closest to each other. Unaware of the others presence, they continued their similarly opposite fantasies. Watching from a nearby rock was the Crab. The Crab was good friends with both the Scorpion and the Fish. The very wise and clever Crab’s crustacean lips slowly curved into a smile as its eight little legs scurried it toward its two friends.

The Fish, enjoying her time so close to land, ran her fins across the still warm, wet sand and sighed to herself. She wished with every scale on her body to be able to tread on the land that so many weird creatures called home. She wondered what it would be like to have legs and to be able to “sit” as she had witnessed her friend the Frog do after he grew his legs. She wondered if she would ever grow legs. But she already knew the answer. If her mother and father didn’t have legs, why would she? Her land induced depression clouded her thoughts as she ran another fin arcoss the sand. She wanted to blame the water for how she felt. She always felt imprisoned by water. A prison that not only moved her where it wanted her to go but was also what she relied on and needed to live. Her conflict between what she needed to survive and what she wanted to live tugged at her soul.

At the same time, not more than three feet away was the Scorpion, looking out towards the ocean. His thoughts mirrored that of the Fish’s but with an envy of a life in the sea. Scampering along the edge of his watery dreamworld, his thoughts drifted. He dreamed of how great it would be to swim around in the ocean. Being able to almost fly as he had seen his friend the Snake do countless times. The Scorpion was bored of land. He was sick of being stuck on the ground and wanted to move freely around. Up and down, to the left, to the right and in a circle. The Scorpion dreamed of all of the ways he would float around the water before he caught himself drawing the shapes with his tail. The Scorpion envied the sharks and the swordfish. They never had to look for cover when it rained. They never had to shield themselves from the hot sun. And they never got blown away in the wind. They just spent their time carelessly flying around underwater without a care in the world. The Scorpion wanted that, he wanted to roam free in that wonderfully blue oceanic sky. But as he ran the facts through his head, he knew it to be impossible. As much as he loved the water, he loved breathing more and just stood there contemplating a life in a world he could never belong to.

The sun was setting beautifully on the beach’s sun glazed coastline as the Crab put its plan into action. The Crab scurried up to the Fish and said, “Hello my dear! Beautiful day isn’t it?” The Fish, startled at the Crab’s sudden appearance replied, “Oh, hi Crab. The day looks great but could have felt better….” the Fish trailed off still slightly saddened about her little mermaid dreams that would never come true. “Still wishing you could walk on land like me?” the Crab mercilessly sings as its eight legs dance a solo waltz around the beach. The Fish blows bubbles in an annoyed protest of the Crab’s mockery of her feelings. The Crab ended its dance with a question. “Come dance with me?” The Fish tilted her head quizzically, motioned one of her fins at her Caudal or tail fin, all without breaking her grim stare at the Crab. “Your lucky!” blurted out the Fish. “Your an alien on both planets and you don’t even need a ship.” The Crab scampered closer to the fish with a serious look on its face, pokes its eyes into the water and mutters, “I’m a jack of all trades but a master of none.” The Crab was known for that: answering a message, comforting a friend, calming a situation, comparing situations, or conveying a complex idea with one line. “You see,” the Crab continued as it pulled its face out of the water, “you swim beautifully in the water and move around so freely while I am at the mercy of whatever current happens to grab me. And yes I can go onto land easily and walk around, but these eight legs make walking cumbersome as it does with swimming. So you see, while I am able to traverse into and out of water and land, I do neither very well. The stubborn Fish didn’t care and would give her right fin for the ability to “walk”, albeit clumsily, on land. This feeling was conveyed to the Crab through the Fish’s eyes. The Crab smiled and said, “How would you like to go out on land?” The Fish’s almost burned out eyes suddenly overloaded with excitement and intrigue. “Do tell…” the Fish responded as her heart made its way back down to earth. “Meet me here where the water ends and the land begins tomorrow right before the sun rises from the water.” The Fish quickly and sarcastically asked, “You mean here? Right before sunrise?” “Yea” the Crab answered with a tinge of disappointment in its voice. “Why does everything always have to be a big deal with you. You always act like your telling some super important story that……” the Fish whined as the ocean drowned her out and she swam away. The Crab could see the spark of excitement in the Fish’s eyes as her mouth complained. She can’t hide that, never could. “One down, one to go…” the Crab thought as it scuttled toward land.