Mina couldn’t be called a practiced swimmer, but at least she could manage to keep her head above water. Falling into the frigid, smelly goldfish water had been quite a rude shock, Mina normally running on the warmer side. Not helping matters, the human’s “AC unit” was blowing, causing shivering waves of goosebumps while Mina tried to calm her mind enough to figure someway out. She couldn’t waste time or energy considering the other possible outcomes to her situation, knowing the human who lived in this particular apartment shouldn’t be back for a while.
She looked up, shaking pond-like water out of her face and blowing to prevent any from getting in her mouth. The water level in the aquarium was too low for her to reach the rim. The LED light glaring above her, she averted her gaze to assess her surroundings.
By then the three fancy goldfish residing in the gargantuan aquarium had noticed her, proceeding to gently peck and nibble toothlessly at her body below water. Under better circumstances, Mina would have been delighted to get such a close look at the beautiful creatures; dancing like butterflies, their long flowing fins streaming like showy scarves. The fish were each larger than a chicken’s egg, but not large enough to be a threat to the borrower, though she was far from eager to learn this firsthand.
Bubbles about the size of Mina’s fist burst from the water surface not far from her in a constant flurry, threatening to splatter water into her eyes and mouth. The plastic tubing of the bubbler was the closest thing for Mina to grab onto, struggling to keep any kind of grip due to a healthy coating of algae. No chance Mina could pull herself out like this, she thought as she readjusted her boot the goldfish had managed to loosen. Fortunately for Mina, borrowers tend to avoid wearing anything too flashy, not wishing to attract unwanted eyes; a tactic proving just as affective for fish as with humans.
Looking around, her only other options were the filter and a thin, leafy plant cutting growing out and over the aquarium’s edge. Unfortunately these were both on the other end of the fishtank, a far swim for any borrower. At least the goldfish relented some, now only picking at Mina’s person every now and then. Swimming as best as she could, Mina opted to try her luck climbing the plant growing over the aquarium side. Passing the filter, Mina got the impression it would be more difficult to climb than the bubbler tubing, judging by the sheer plastic covered with shades of green up to where the highest water level normally covers.
Reaching the base of the plant cutting, Mina clung gratefully to the branching stems, catching her breath and shivering with cold; shuddering as the fine roots brushed against her skin below the water. She found her movements were slightly stiffened from the chilly water, but she realized that now the water felt much warmer compared to the air conditioned room.
The plant cutting grew out in short, straight sections, maybe as thick as Mina’s wrist, zigzagging together like a lattice. No surprise, the plant’s stalk was slippery, though mercifully not so much that Mina didn’t think she had a shot of climbing out. Adding in its many purple-striped leaves, she was feeling hopeful her ordeal would soon be through. Hanging on with a death grip Mina began pulling herself out of the water, taking great care to mind how she put her weight on each section of plant she stepped on or held on to.
Mina mentally repeated her climbing process, willing herself to keep steady as she shook with cold. The further out of the water she got, the more the frigid air found purchase on her already chilled, wet form, hair dripping and further renewing her want for warmth.
The plant segment bearing most of her weight snapped in half, suddenly throwing her balance and losing her grip. Purely by instinct Mina barely managing to hold her breath before plummeting back-first into the water, the angle of impact nearly knocking the air from her lungs. Below the surface she was met by the rushing current of the filter outflow, pushing to keep her down. All Mina could think was to get to the surface, fighting against the force spinning her like a bug stuck in a stream.
Mina broke the water surface at last, gasping to catch her breath and get air to her brain. Back at the surface and clear of the filter’s outflow, she was grateful for a helpful current now gently leading her towards lily pads the size of whole potato chips. None were sturdy enough to support her full weight, but she clung to the round, green and red leaves none the less. Exhausted, Mina propped herself up on a particularly large leaf, laying on it like a life raft, all too eager for a rest.
Mina jolted to foggy conscious, needing a second to remember where she was. She saw the vibrantly mottled lily pad that kept her afloat, the twinkling reflections from the LED lights on the water’s surface. Shivering still, Mina’s teeth chattered and she could feel her hairs above water standing on end, and… the back of her knee itched? Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no. She remembered why she’d startled awake, panic rising in the pit of her guts before even turning to look.
Two giant brown eyes, each one bigger than Mina’s whole head, met level with her own stare through the slightly water-stained glass. Mostly submerged, Mina was chilled to begin with, but unable to tear her gaze from the colossal human’s, her insides felt frozen solid. Heartbeat drumming in her chest and pounding in her skull, Mina struggled to keep her breathing under control. Maybe then her brain would function normally again.
The two stared at each other for what felt like an unbearably long time, at least to Mina, but she was too petrified to look away. The giant eyes were hard and almost restless, attempting to comprehend what they were seeing. The human opened their mouth slightly, but emitted no articulate words, only broken snippets of speech from a buffering brain.
The spell was broken at last when a goldfish fin grazed Mina’s leg and gave her a start. All three goldfish were swimming in front of the human in a graceful, braiding sort of dance.
The enormous person trailed off, standing and shifting position so they were looking at the borrower from above. Shaking, Mina had to shield her eyes from the LED aquarium light, but tried to keep her sights locked on the human. Her gigantic counterpart raised a hand larger than the borrower, but paused with it hanging over the aquarium edge. Mina’s panic renewed, her eyes now jumping between the hand and its owner’s difficult to read face.
The human trailed off and gave a small huff. Their thick, bushy brows knitting together and they clenched their jaw. Very, very slowly the huge hand lowered into the water, enormous gaze mindful of her reactions, almost questioning if she was fine with every increment they reached closer. Mina couldn’t think, much less breathe, tensing as the large fingers maneuvered between her and the lily pad, but oh! The contact was SO WARM, and Mina was chilled to the bone. She was embarrassed how readily she clung to the giant hand, but thoroughly too desperate for warmth to pull away as she was lifted out.
“Shit, you’re freezing…” the deep voice remarked quietly, Mina able to feel the sound regardless. Suddenly the human’s other hand came into view, thumb and pointer finger extended towards the borrower. All Mina could manage was to shut her eyes and brace for the worst. Instead she felt a vaguely familiar sensation, realizing the human was removing aquarium snails from her person and plunking them back in with the goldfish. The human gently adjusted their grip on her, making sure the borrower was snail-free.
Out of the water the air conditioning bit at Mina’s drenched form, prompting her into a shivering ball. The world tilted as the hand holding Mina elevated her to the human’s collarbone, positioning their hand around her in a gentle embrace of warmth. Any semblance of coherent thought left Mina’s mind, suddenly enveloped in warmth. The steady sound of the human’s breathing, the soft beat of a heart larger than herself, it was all certainly overwhelming and quite more than enough to lull Mina to sleep after what she’d been through…
