A short story for National Geographic's challenge #PlanetOrPlastic . The struggle of animals living in the world we pollute and destroy.
500-word count in Office Word, 489 in Wattpad.
Enjoy and beware the feels
The Orca stirred her calf once more, curious as to why it hadn't moved in a while. Instinctively, it knew that her calf wasn't asleep yet, shouldn't be sleeping any time soon.
She had hunted just recently for her calf, her and the rest of the pod showing it how to chase and hunt their illusive prey. It had fed from her rich milk a few hours ago but, had slowly stopped moving ever since.
Perhaps it was the jellyfish she nibbled on earlier?
Her calf had struggled to eat it whole and the Orca had remained close, offering her young comfort as she fed on the small prey. Her calf was unable to tear chunks off of it so it swallowed the small jellyfish whole.
As she pumped her tail, she could remember a time where the oceans were cooler and fish were plenty. Salmon, Cod, Seals, Sharks... There had been plenty of food when the whale herself was a calf. And now, they had to settle with much less.
There are still plenty of motionless jellyfish. They never sting either, nor do they swim away. Easy pickings.
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Now, she had to struggle to find enough food for herself and her calf. As her calf started to slowly sink, she nudged underneath it, holding it on top of her back to keep her young afloat.
This wasn't her first calf, nor would it be her last. The rest of the pod was gathering around, clicks and cries echoing through the deep blue waters as she struggled to keep her young steady on her head.
She couldn't understand what was going on. Her calf was only born recently, the umbilical cord still attached and she knew from her previous young that they shouldn't sleep yet.
The calf slipped off of the killer whale's head, slowly swirling to the depths, jaw slack and open as it stayed motionless. And still the mother persisted. She pumped her tail quickly, moving to her, unbeknownst to her, deceased young.
As the rest of the pod swirled around, filling the sea with a mourning lullaby, the mother Orca refused to accept the unacceptable. She nudged her calf back to the surface, ignoring the way her lungs burned for a new breath of air, how her stomach burned from the oddly crunchy jellyfish that littered the ocean.
Her eyes stung as she reached the surface, an oily film laying on top of it. Noisy boats were circling her, humans pointing her way as she kept her calf's head above water while taking a gasping breath. A few of the humans in the boat finished up their meal, throwing the wrappers carelessly overboard.
The Orca could already see some of the Pod's calves go over to investigate the potential meal. Yet she wouldn't eat, wouldn't rest.
Not until her calf woke up and invited her to play once more. Night fell and she persisted. Days passed and she slowly started losing hope. Her future... was gone.
