This prompt was a little longer than normal, but I had a super blast doing this one! Oh my goodness! I was chuckling at how much I loved a certain character in it. I hope you enjoy it! It features a very hilarious sarcastic fish! Are you intrigued?

Katrina ran outside pressing her hands hard against her ears, trying to block the ugly sounds from inside the house. The sounds of her parents shouting voices followed her, but slowly faded as she tore across the lawn. Heaving sobs shook her shoulders, and tears made their courses down her face. She pulled to a stop beside the old tumble-down well that their country house boasted.

She hated when her parents fought. Daddy had been drinking those nasty smelling bottles with the pictures of ugly pirates on their labels. She hated the bottles. Whenever they were around, her daddy got into an ugly mood and started shouting.
She hated when he shouted. It was like he was a completely different person, not the Daddy she knew loved her. Not the one who would catch her in a bear hug after a long day of work, or chase her around the house making kissing noises and trying to smother her with caresses. It was like her Daddy went someplace else and was replaced by someone who looked like him but acted completely different.
She kicked at the stones surrounding the well in her frustration. It just wasn’t fair. She leaned against the wooden support for the tiny roof that covered the well and a sharp crack hurt her ears. Before she could catch her balance, she felt herself plummeting into the inky black depths of the well.
She clawed the air with her hands as the scream was snatched from her mouth by the air rushing past.
Suddenly, she splashed into water that was a clammy cool temperature. Water burned in her nose and she fought towards the surface. When her head broke the top of the water, she sputtered and drew a deep breath of air. She swam ashore and lay down on the grassy bank with her eyes closed, resting.
She sat up so fast, her hair flipped water. She looked around herself in astonishment. She thought she had fallen into a well. . . But here she was sitting on a soft and grassy ground beside a small pond in what seemed to be a cave. But there was light coming in from above in the small hole that must be the well shaft.
She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. Yes, it was the well shaft all right. She could see a bucket hanging from ta rope and swaying gently. The sound of running water arrested her attention and she looked over her shoulder to see a small stream rippling and frolicking over stones and rocks before it emptied into the pond.
“Hello there. . . Aren’t you a pretty one?”
Katrina screamed and turned sharply, but she saw no one. Scared stiff, she looked this way and that, but could see not one thing.
“Down here. . . Humans can be so stupid.” The deep voice sounded so disgusted.
Katrina glanced down and saw nothing but grass. She bent down farther for a closer look.
“Do you need glasses? Good heavens! I’m in the water!”
Katrina looked into the little blue pond and saw a beautiful fish.
It was lovely shades of blue. Turquoise, deep blue, even a hint of teal green could be found on its iridescent scales. A long feathery tail almost like a horse’s mane flowed out gracefully in the water behind him.
“There, now you can see me. You took quite a nasty tumble. I had to swim hard just to avoid being kicked by your ridiculous feet.” He remarked sharply looking with disdain at her bare feet. With as much disdain as a fish can really look anyway.
“I’m sorry, I. . . wait! You’re a fish! Why are you talking?”
He rolled his eyes with a sarcastic laugh. “Because I am Melvin of course.”
Katrina turned this piece of information over in her head.
“What’s a Melvin?”
He sighed in frustration. “Not a Melvin, I am Melvin, as in, my name is Melvin.”
“Oh!” Somehow this explanation still left her perplexed. “That’s a cool name.”
Melvin swelled with pride, his fins flapping with pleasure. “I think so too!” he agreed.
“You’re supposed to say ‘thank you’.” Katrina thought she would give him a hint.
“Why would I do that?” he asked with a bewildered look on his face.
“Well. . .” Katrina rubbed her forehead thinking hard. “I don’t really know why you do it, only mommy said it is the polite thing to do when someone says a nice thing to you.”
“Well, I have no idea who this ‘mommy’ creature is, but it sounds like a silly idea to me.” Melvin sniffed and crossed his fins.
“I guess,” Katrina shrugged in agreement.
A comfortable silence spread between them for a moment. She explored the cave with her eyes before Melvin interrupted.
“Well?” he asked.
“Well what?” she turned back to see him watching her with his fishy eyebrows raise in a waiting attitude.
He shook his head and sighed with aggravation. “Must I spell everything out to you? Humans can be so stupid! You’re name of course! You never told me your name!”
“Oh! I’m Katrina. And you shouldn’t say stupid. Mommy says it’s a bad word.
“There we are, back to the ‘mommy’ creature again. Why do you insist on quoting it all the time? As to your name, surprisingly, it is quite nice. Melvin and Katrina. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
“Well, yes, but what does it matter what they sound like together?” Katrina laughed.
“Well, it should sound good together, especially since we are going to be best friends and live happily ever after!” Melvin gave a happy little flip and swam in a tight circle, almost like a ballerina doing a pirouette.
“What do you mean happily ever after? I can’t stay here!” Katrina rested her head in her hands. It had started to throb and it almost felt too heavy to hold up.
“But of course you can stay! You have to stay!” Melvin chuckled happily and clapped his fins. “I’ve been waiting for a friend and you’ll do just fine!”
“But Melvin, I can’t stay. I have a mommy and daddy who need me. Well, at least I know mommy needs me.” She remembered her father’s unkind words and cringed.
“You mean there’s two creatures? And you like these silly ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ things more than me? How could you like anything more than me?” He fluffed his tail and looked for all the world cantankerous.
“I do like you Melvin, very much, you are a very beautiful clever and nice fish, and perhaps I can visit. But I can’t stay.”
“No, but you can’t” he almost shouted. “That’s just it! If you leave, you can never get back! Don’t you see? You have to stay!” His voice had a frantic and angry edge to it.
Katrina gripped her head against the wave of pain that attacked her temples. “But I can’t stay Melvin. I really need to go.”
Melvin’s face expressed his anger. “Fine then! Go! You’re a selfish, annoying horrible person! And I never want to see you again!”
Katrina stared at him in shock as he turned and faced away from her with a twirl of his tail.
“I’m sorry Melvin. Goodbye.” She turned to leave but stumbled and sank to her knees. The pain in her head was truly terrible and the view from her eyes was hazy. She was so tried. If only she could sleep. All strength gone, she lay down in the grass and closed her eyes.
“No! Don’t go to sleep! That’s how they all leave. Don’t go please! I am sorry! I don’t want to be alone! It’s so dark and lonely please, don’t!”
Katrina wanted to open her eyes, but she couldn’t A flash of blue then white overwhelmed her senses and she felt sick and dizzy before everything went black.
***********************************************************
Katrina fought against the blackness that tried to engulf her. Something smelled annoying, like soap, and she wrinkled her nose. Her head hurt with a dull but no longer overwhelming ache. With some effort she pulled her eyes open and blinked against the light.
“Melvin?” the word came out raspy from her dry throat and she could hardly tell if it wall came out.
“Darling? Katrina, I’m right here.”
“Mommy?” Katrina couldn’t tell if she was more relieved to see her mom or disappointed. She decided on relieved. She glanced around the room and saw that it was all white and clean and that she was in a funny bed with rail on the sides and there was a TV on the wall in the corner.
She looked up and saw her Daddy over her Mommy’s shoulder. He must have had a nap because he seemed to be his usual self.
“My head hurts.” Katrina lifted a hand and was surprised to feel a large bandage on her head.
“You took a nasty tumble down into that old well and hit your head sweetie. We weren’t sure you were going to make it. We had a hard time of it rescuing you.” Mommy rubbed Katrina’s arm with one hand and wiped away a tear with the other.
“Did you rescue Melvin too?” Katrina asked. Her eyes closing again, she felt so sleepy.
“Melvin?”
“Yes, he was so lonely.”
 
 
I would love to hear what you think! Let me know in the comments below!

By God’s Grace,
Victoria