Dolphin

The sun was setting, illuminating the sky with ruby ​​red. A light gray dolphin leaped above the water, spraying thousands of tiny drops around it, which shimmered in a thousand colors, reflected in the fading light.

The old man gazed longingly out to sea. He stood on the edge of a gray cliff, listening to the sea waves sing and watching the dolphin's graceful leaps, like a delicate ballet, a light dance with the water and the sky. It reminded him of his youth, his strength, and the constant oscillation between good and evil, strength and weakness. The soft rustle of the wind gently rocked his thoughts, allowing them to drift slowly back to days gone by.

Toward old friends. The old man was sinking deeper and deeper into a sea of ​​longing, for what had once been, for the people he had spent so much time with. Now they were hundreds of miles apart, yet he believed they hadn't forgotten. Just as he hadn't forgotten them.

The first to appear among his memories was the girl's face. Golden freckles on her peachy skin. He always fondly remembered those dots on her nose and cheeks, and the girl's warm, brown eyes. He adored her, just as everyone who met her was crazy about her; she had a way of winning anyone over. Her mischievous smile and the brown-red mane that always fell over her eyes brought a strange warmth to his heart. He admired this little, big girl. A child in the body of a grown woman.

A small ladybug, its red shell adorned with tiny black dots, flew onto the old man's hand. She whispered something, but the old man couldn't hear it, couldn't understand it.

The memories drifted further.

He had always thought he was invincible, until he met Sen. He was a truly worthy opponent when it came to wrestling. And his most loyal companion. What more could he want? But now he didn't even know if Sen was alive. He had left him, gravely injured, alone, to fetch help. They hadn't seen each other since. So many years had passed, and that day still returned in dreams every dark night. The blood and pain on his friend's face, the fear for his life and his. Helplessness. Departure. He couldn't stay, though he would have done anything to change it.

A bear roared in the nearby forest. It said something, but he couldn't understand what it was. He couldn't understand. His thoughts wandered on.

Narcissus and Arrow, that's what they called them; perhaps no one remembers their names anymore. No one ever spoke of them individually, even after Arrow's death. Friend and friend. Brother and sister. He was handsome and charming, a cocky and somewhat vain youth always ready for a fight and fun. She was, well, romantic and tender, ready to take care of anyone who needed help, yet brave as a lioness when danger threatened one of her friends. She had saved the lives of more than one of them many times, or helped them regain their face.

Two little kittens, born a few weeks ago and now playing carefree under the watchful eye of their mother, a distinguished black cat, brushed against his hands. They purred, but the man didn't understand. People don't understand.

The dolphin leaped out of the water for the last time, spraying silvery drops around him. The old man still sat on the shore, watching him with increasingly sad eyes, among new friends he couldn't understand.

"How I pity you, old man! You have what you've been asking for so long, but you can't find it. You can find what you've lost, but you're afraid to look, because what you truly long for is youth, which will never return."

The bottlenose dolphin had already vanished from the man's sight, but he continued to ponder.

"I pity you, dolphin! I lost everything, but I have memories of what I once had, and what will remain for you? A silver wave that splashes as you soar into the sky?" One day you'll lack the strength even for your dances, what will you do then, dolphin?

The dolphin wanted to say something, but the man didn't understand. Only the animals understood, rushing back to their lairs.

The man suddenly understood and wept, tears falling down, mingling with the salty seawater.

He departed with the night, toward the stars.