Melody pressed her nose to the glass, the cold surface sending a snake of a shiver down her spine but she ignored it. Everything was so bright and colorful, the greens of the seaweed, the blue of the water, the meriads of fish streaking through the water like rainbows.

Her eyes couldn’t seem to take in everything that she wanted them to, all the beauty that surrounded her only kept away by the thick glass.

She gasped suddenly as the biggest fish she had ever seen rounded past a large piece of purple coral. He stopped his current course in order to turn his body, his fins propelling him in her direction.

Melody couldn’t help placing her hand on the glass, said fish swimming even closer to her, his gigantic eyes focused upon her own.

“Flapper. That’s what I’ll call you,” Melody said proudly, patting the smooth surface as if she could feel his golden scales beneath her fingertips.

She stared on in awe for what’s seemed like an eternity, talking to her new friend with a new found enthusiasm.

She had just finished telling him her favorite food and in turn asked him his, when she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

“Melody! Come on it’s time to go!” He mother called, coming around the other side of the tank to find her daughter.

“Mom! I want you to meet Flapper! He’s so big and pretty!” Melody exlcaimed happily, skipping over to the older woman.

“Flapper? And who is Flapper?” She asked her daughter curiously.

“My new best friend! Come on!” Melody said as she pulled her mother by the hand to the other side of the tank. She felt that she successfully explained Flapper to her mom so that she would be prepared once they had the opportunity to meet, but Joan was very confused when her daughter showed her what she had been so obsessed about. The mysterious and magical “Flapper”, turned out to be only a tiny Squareback Anthias according the the plaque beside that particular aquarium.

Joan’s eyebrows raised as Melody introduced the pair to each other and seemed to habve a conversation between them that she was apparently not privy to.

Eventually, the pair had to return to the guys of their family, Joan’s husband looking at her with concern as they approached.

“You two go ahead but not too far, ok Andrew? Melody?” Dave instructed his children, the pair overjoyed at the prospect of seeing more of the aquarium.

“Yes Daddy!” The two called out in unison, giggling as the continued on their way.

“Are you alright? You seem confused,” Dave asked as he pushed the stroller forward, their youngest daughter ingrossed in her teething ring.

“Melody wanted to show me this colossal fish, but when we got there, it was just this little thing, barely bigger than a clown fish,”

Dave laughed good naturedly. “Is that all? I thought it was something worse!”

“I’m serious Dave. She had me worried,”

“I think there’s a much easier explanation to this than you think,”

“Oh?” Joan asked, crossing her arms. “And what would that be,”

“It’s simply seeing the world through the wonder of a child,”