or, when pushing just makes more waves
Spiral home / currents of meaning
Later that evening
OPAL noticed ANNIE the Anemone
And STELLA the Starfish
In an unusual pattern
STELLA was stretched rigid
All arms held distant
While ANNIE’s tentacles
Withdrew completely closed
“She ATTACKED me!” ANNIE’s voice trembled
“Just reached out and GRABBED!
I had to defend myself
So I STUNG back!”
“I was trying to be friendly!”
STELLA’s arms pulsed with hurt
“But she STABBED me with poison
So I HAD to push harder!”
Each defensive move
Made the other defend more
Until they’d created
A widening gyre of reaction
OPAL watched the pattern
(shifting to thoughtful blue)
As each friend responded
To their response
To their response…
“Would you each share,” OPAL offered
“Not what you felt pushed to do
But what you wished
The other could read?”
ANNIE’s tentacles loosened slightly
“I… I was startled
I curl up when startled
It means ‘give me space'”
STELLA’s arms softened
“I reach wide when I’m excited
To share something beautiful
I found a new coral bloom…”
“Oh,” they whispered together
Seeing how each reaction
Had been read as force
When it was actually language
Now ANNIE’s tentacles swayed gently
While STELLA’s arms curved soft
Each learning to read
The other’s dance
By moonrise, they were swaying
In a shared rhythm
Neither pushing nor defending
But conversing
OPAL glowed pearl-white
Watching her friends discover
How meaning moves
In patterns, not pushes