“Sunny, you’re in love with the sun." Mother would say. It always made me mad, but deep in my heart, I knew it was true. Since I was young, I have been captivated by her bright beauty and warm, gentle glow. I'd spend hours chasing the light, desperate to see her once again before night came. As much as I love the sun, I love someone more. She was small when we first met, but my little sister is just perfect; her skin is the most adorable baby blue that I had ever laid eyes on, and the ends of her tail were rounded just enough so that it looked like a heart. The two of us would spend hours racing through the brightly colored coral reefs, and after she got tired, she would gulp down mountains of krill and then burp loudly. I always found it to be hilarious. Truth be told, we were inseparable.

It’s a sunny day, a perfect day to munch on krill when suddenly a large rumble startles my sister and me.

“What is that?” I said in between bites of salty krill. I could hear the rumbling growing louder; something was definitely approaching us.

"I don't know, but it’s scaring the krill,” my sister replied, watching as the krill darted in all different directions. Before I could say anything else, I saw a large figure looming right above. It was so big that everything went dark, including my view of the sun and, more importantly, my sister. After a while, the large figure left, but not without a trace. “What are they?” My sister asked as she smacked the mysterious objects from the large figure with her tail. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure. The objects came in many different shapes and sizes; some looked like clear jellyfish, while others looked like little fish eggs. Perhaps the large figure was giving us a gift; I would soon find out that they were anything but gifts.

A few days later, I woke up nice and early to go for a long swim in the reefs. I was excited because, around this time of year, the reefs would be filled with all sorts of creatures. Perhaps I could meet someone who loves the sun just as much as I do.

“I’m going out to the reefs,” I called out to my sister. She slowly looks up at me and yawns loudly.

“Bring back some tasty krill,” she asked right before flopping right back to sleep. I started swimming out to the coral reefs, and then I saw it. Something feels off, I thought to myself. The coral was paler than usual, and the reefs were way emptier than they should have been. I decided to cut my trip short and grab some krill for my sister before rushing home. As I entered my home, my sister looked shocked to see me.

“Well, that sure was quick; I was sure that you’d be gone for at least an hour,” said my little sister. “Did you at least get some krill? I heard that it’s delicious around this time of year, and I’m starving!” I nodded my head and gave her some of the krill. I got extra because I knew how much she loved to eat krill. As I watched her eat, I still couldn’t shake off how unusual it was that the coral reefs were completely deserted, but I soon realized that my worries would only get worse.

“You’re done already?” I said, shocked; my sister had only gulped 2 bites of krill. “I thought you were starving." I looked at the wasted Krill; this wasn’t like her. I reminisced about all the times when my little sister had not only eaten her portion of krill but mine as well.

“I’m so full, I can’t eat another bite,” she groans. I look at her, worried something is happening, but I don’t know what.

As time progressed, I watched as my sister started to shrink. It was horrific. All while she claimed to be full, I watched as her bright blue exterior turned pale gray. I watched as her happy disposition morphed into an endless state of exhaustion. I look at her, lying there, staring aimlessly at the reefs, awaiting her death. I push a bit of krill toward her mouth.

"You need to eat," I say, holding back tears. "I just can't stand to see you like this." She stares at the krill and turns away.

"I can't... I just can't eat." She mumbles and groans. I swallow the lump in my throat and inhale deeply before putting on a brave face.

 "It's fine I know you're trying your hardest; just please get some rest." I smile at her sadly. Once she falls asleep, I can't hold it in anymore. "I'm watching my sister die; I'm watching her die, and I can't even do anything about it." I look up at the sun. "Please tell me what to do, anything!" I beg loudly.

"It's the krill," a mysterious creature says.

"Who said that?" I swivel my head and see the mysterious voice. The mysterious voice appears to be a remora fish; he wears countless scars and age lines as a testimony to his age and experience.

"The krill, it's poisonous now; you can't let your sister eat it." The remora fish spoke in a creaky voice. I'm shocked. Was it the krill? But how? And what else can she eat? We're blue whales; we can only eat krill! The remora could tell what I was thinking and pointed to the surface above us.

“It’s the land creatures; they drop strange objects that poison our food and destroy our homes,” the old remora says sadly as he looks towards a damaged coral reef.

“Where should I go then?” I say with a hint of hope in my voice that maybe there may be a solution after all.

“It’ll take a while, but look for coral reefs that haven’t been abandoned. Be quick; who knows how long it’ll be before the land creatures return?" the old Remora says. I don’t delay myself any longer, and I start my long journey in search of saving my sister.

I swim through dozens of coral reefs and try to imagine what they once looked like brightly colored coral basking in the sun, tiny yellow fish swimming laps around the wavy tentacles of an anemone. I picture a school of fish all huddled together, moving in perfect synchronization to avoid the large sea turtle munching on long strands of seaweed.

The sun disappears, signaling the start of an unbearable night. I can feel my eyelids droop as I let out a loud yawn. I ignored the pangs of fatigue I needed to find Krill; I could always sleep later. I just couldn’t let my sister go to sleep forever.

The sun went up and down three times before I finally found it: a coral reef left untouched by the heinous land creatures. Upon seeing the reef teeming with life, the nostalgia came flooding back. All those times we used to swim together, it was pure bliss, but I wasn’t here for a hit of recollection; I was here for Krill. I swam towards a swarm of Krill when, suddenly, I heard a large, familiar rumble, and my heart dropped. The land creatures are here; they’ll kill everything. I look around at the unassuming sea creatures in the coral. I grab some krill and get ready to flee when I see two little sunfish playing together.

“No, I won’t let the land creatures make them suffer the way they did to me,” I say to myself. I leave the krill that I was saving and charge straight in the direction of the rumbling. A large thud vibrates throughout the reef. I throw myself right at the large figure and stumble back. My mouth has a metallic taste, and my head feels numb, but it’s nothing compared to the damage I inflicted on them. I stare at the large crack in the hull of the mysterious object in my eyes; it looks like a work of art in my eyes. The large figure lets out another rumble, and I get ready to attack once again, but instead, I feel a sharp pain in my side. I swerved my head around. There's a harpoon sticking out of me. I wince as the water turns a bright red.

“I can’t die, not yet. I need to save these creatures. I need to save my sister." I groan in pain as I ram into the large object one last time. The rumbling stops, and the large object slowly moves away. I sigh in relief as I look back at the coral reef. I grab some fresh krill and make my way home.

"I'm coming, sister; just wait," I tell myself. The journey home was hard; my side was in excruciating pain, and I knew that once I returned home, it would be over.

When I returned home, the weather was sunny, my favorite. I rushed over to my sister, fearing for the worst. A sigh of relief washed over me as she woke up.

“Sunny? I haven’t seen you in a while,” she says weakly.

“I got you some krill." I push it towards her, anxiously awaiting her reaction.

She smiles and says, “Good, I’m famished.” She eats all of the krill in 35 seconds flat; luckily, I brought extra. I can’t help but cry happy tears. I did it; I saved her.

I swam out to the reefs one last time. I feel a familiar, warm glow wrap around me. It radiates through my body as I can feel myself getting lighter and lighter. My life flashes in front of me. I see all of my triumphs and challenges, and then I see my sister. I smile one last time, and I slowly close my eyes and fall asleep forever.