The stripes knew a shortcut.
The Marker
Neri had found the perfect marker for the gathering.
It was a small yellow leaf, bright enough to be seen from beneath the water and wide enough to rest against the roots near the upstream bend.
“Our friends will see it at once,” she told Pip.
Pip looked at the leaf floating above them.
“If we can get it there.”
Neri nudged its stem with her nose. The leaf moved upstream.
“There.”
It drifted back over her head.
Pip swam aside to let it pass.
“It came back,” he said.
“I noticed.”
Neri turned and pushed again. This time the leaf travelled as far as a round stone before the water carried it downstream.
Pip caught up with it near a patch of reeds.
“Would you like me to bring it back?” he called.
“No. I’ll bring it forward.”
“Which way is forward?”
“Towards the bend.”
Pip looked at the leaf moving away from the bend.
“Then I think it needs your help.”
Back Again
They tried together. Neri pushed from behind while Pip kept one side of the leaf from turning.
For a moment, it moved in a straight line. Then the tip caught the current, and the leaf swung round. Its stem brushed Neri’s nose.
“Now I’m at the front,” Pip said.
“Then push.”
Pip pushed. The leaf turned again.
“Am I at the back?”
“You’re beside me.”
“Is that better?”
“It depends what the leaf is doing.”
The leaf slipped between them and travelled downstream.
They followed it to the reeds, where it rested against a long green stem. Neri stopped beneath it.
“Perhaps it’s too light,” she said.
“Would a heavier leaf stay in place?”
“It might. I don’t know if we could push it.”
Pip looked upstream. Near the edge of the stream, several stones rose above the water. Small spaces lay between them, sheltered from the strongest movement.
“The leaf stayed by this reed,” he said. “Perhaps it would stay beside a stone too.”
“Until we push it again?”
“That’s the part I’m hoping for.”
Neri looked at the stones. The route between them curved away from the straight path to the bend.
“It looks farther.”
“Only one stone farther for now,” Pip said.
Beside the Stones
They brought the leaf to the first stone. Neri nudged it along the edge while Pip swam beside the tip.
When they reached the sheltered side, the leaf slowed and rested against the stone.
Both fish waited.
“It’s still here,” Pip said.
“It may be planning something.”
They swam to the next stone and looked back. The leaf remained where they had left it.
Neri returned for it. This time, Pip went ahead to check the space beyond the second stone.
“There’s room,” he called.
“For the leaf?”
“For the leaf and one of us.”
“Which one?”
“The one pushing.”
Neri guided the leaf around the stone. When it began to turn, Pip pressed gently against the other side. Together they brought it into the quieter water beyond.
They continued this way: one fish looking ahead, the other keeping the leaf near the edge. At the third stone, Pip became the pusher, and Neri went ahead.
The leaf brushed his stripes as he swam.
“Is it still behind me?” he asked.
“It’s beside you.”
“Is that better?”
“It is this time.”
Beyond the last stone, the roots at the bend came into view.
Leave It There
Neri pushed the leaf towards the middle of the stream.
Pip swam after her.
“If we leave it there, will it stay?”
Neri stopped. The leaf continued for a moment, then began to drift back.
“I was hoping it would.”
Pip pointed with his nose towards the roots. One long root curved into the water, with a small hollow behind it.
They guided the leaf into the hollow. Its yellow edge remained visible from below, while the stem rested against the root.
Neri and Pip waited.
The water moved around the leaf, but the leaf stayed in place.
“Can you see it from over there?” Neri asked.
Pip swam downstream to the nearest stone.
“Yes.”
“What about behind it?”
He swam a little farther.
“Yes. I can see you too.”
Neri moved to one side.
“And now?”
“I can see the leaf.”
“Good.”
One of their friends appeared from among the reeds.
“Is that the meeting place?” she asked.
“It is,” said Neri.
Their friend swam up to the root and looked at the leaf.
“Shall I push it any farther?”
“No,” Neri and Pip said together.
She stopped.
“Does it need turning?”
“It’s had enough turns,” Pip said.
More fish arrived. Each could see the yellow leaf from the stream and find the hollow beside the roots.
When everyone had gathered, Neri looked back at the path between the stones.
“That took longer than swimming straight here.”
“Yes,” said Pip. “But the leaf came with us.”
Their friend examined the marker once more.
“It’s a good place for it.”
Neri watched the leaf lift slightly, then settle against the root.
“We tried several,” she said.
Livora Gracely ♥
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