5

Zade exhaled slowly, swiveling his chair around as he studied her through the glass. "I'm sorry to hear that," he murmured. "You should be free to choose who you want to marry."

Salene's lips curved into a faint, wistful smile. "In my world, choice is a luxury, not a right. Sometimes duty outweighs the heart." Her eyes flicked up to his, bright for a moment, then softened. "But it doesn't mean I don't dream about it."

He hesitated. "About love?"

She nodded. "About freedom."

The room went quiet except for the soft hum of the air pump and the faint gurgle of bubbles rising through the water. For a long while, they just looked at each other - two creatures from different worlds bound by curiosity, loneliness, and secrets.

Then, without warning, her brows furrowed slightly, and her hand pressed against her chest.

"Are you alright?" Zade asked, immediately noticing the shift.

"Yes," she said after a pause, forcing a smile. "Just... a strange feeling. It's nothing."

He frowned, but before he could question her further, she pushed off the rock and swam to the other side of the tank, pretending to be absorbed in chasing the air bubbles.

That night, he couldn't stop thinking about her expression - the way her face had tightened, the quick wince she tried to hide. He told himself it was probably nothing, that she was just tired.

But the next morning, when he came into the room, she was sitting listlessly on the rock with her head resting against the glass.

"Salene?"

She stirred weakly, blinking up at him. "I'm fine," she whispered, though her voice was faint and uneven. "I just feel... off. I don't know how to explain it."

Zade crouched by the tank, his heart racing. "You're pale... your tail-"

He stopped. The once-brilliant scales along her tail had lost their shimmer, fading into a dull, lifeless hue.

"Something's wrong," he muttered, more to himself than to her. He checked the temperature, the salinity, the filtration system - everything looked normal. But she only grew weaker.

Over the next few days, the sparkle that once defined her began to fade. She spoke less, barely ate, and her eyes lost their usual light.

Zade's frustration turned into fear. He couldn't focus, couldn't think. He ran tests on the filtration system, even on his own equipment. Nothing made sense.

Until one night, he decided to test the water - bent over the microscope in his cluttered lab, his hands trembling - he finally saw it.

Tiny, wriggling organisms moving like ghosts in the drop of tank water, with water-soluble pigments.

His blood ran cold. "Shit..." he whispered. "The water's contaminated with Aeromonas."

He looked up sharply, his breath shallow as he turned toward the tank. Salene floated weakly near the surface, her fingers barely brushing the glass.

Zade pressed his palm against the same spot, his voice cracking. "Hold on, Salene... I'm going to fix this."

The next morning, Zade was running on pure adrenaline. He hadn't slept, his mind looping on the urgency of him getting the antibiotics, Erythromycin specifically. He rushed out the door, speeding through the streets to the aquarium shop.

He barely remembered the drive - only the thought of Salene's pale face pressed against the glass, her breaths shallow and uneven. "“I have to get this to her,” he muttered, voice tight with panic. “If I don’t, she could… she could die.” he muttered under his breath, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. Willing her not to die.

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