Implausible Adventures of Euglena: the First-Person Narrative of an Algae

There I was, in the middle of nowhere stuck on a boat with a Cladoceran. It was a life or death situation. I was stuck on a boat with the one thing that can eat me. Let me tell you how it all started…

It was paradise. The seas were absolutely beautiful. I was with my family. My friends. Companions. The food was magnificent; paramecium, algae, all good things. We would make our own food every now and then to satisfy our hunger if there wasn’t anything to eat, so it all worked out. We were on our way to the fresh waters, where only the best cells went and lived. You see, back at home, we owned a zoo full of many cells and organisms. It consisted of all the cells you would hope to see and find in the wild. We decided to move from the brackish waters to the fresh waters for better opportunities for our family. We chose to sell the land where our zoo was and take the animals to the fresh waters and sell them there to make enough money to live in the fresh waters. So here we are, on the ship on our way to start a new life.

We were all sleeping when were going over the deepest salt waters in the world. They were quite dangerous, especially because we don’t belong there. If we were to even touch the water we’d die. It’s just not our place to be. I woke up from the noise of the storm that was right above us. I slowly got out of my bed making sure I wouldn’t wake up my family. I went outside to see the fascinating storm that was stirring around the ship. I was dancing, hoping for more rain. I screamed and sang so rain would come. I love rain, it makes more space for us to move and swim around. Moving around the ship with my flagellum behind me, I went to the rim of the ship. From upstairs, you can see all the ruckus that was happening from below. There were crewmen trying to alert everyone to get off the boat.

Soon enough, the alarm started blaring. Red lights flashing and the sound of horror ringing in our ears. Right then, I saw the whole crew get washed out by a huge wave. I was absolutely horrified. I then realize that my family was still sleeping underneath the deck of the boat. I move as quickly as I can to get back down only to find all the animals swimming around to get to safety. I wonder to let all the animals out but i keep moving. I continue to try and get to our room as quickly as possible. I then see that the water has taken over the whole bottom deck. That was when I realized that my family was gone. I run back to the top to find a few survivors trying to get to the escape boats as quickly as possible. I tell them that my family is still under the boat, begging them to save them. But they ignored me and continued to try to prepare the boat for departure. They drag me and push me onto the boat no matter how hard I try to resist. Then, an algae jumps onto the boat and we fall into the ocean. The ship we were on sunk. My family and friends, gone. It was just me and the algae for now. I look around to see if there were any survivors to take onto the boat. With all the waves, it was almost impossible to see. I find a phytoplankton floating around, another one of our zoo cells. I reach out for it and take it onto the boat. I love a lot of the organisms in the zoo so I try my very best to help them. I try my best to comfort them as we rock back and forth on the water. Then, out of nowhere, a Cladoceran comes out of nowhere and eats the two of them. I try my best to stay away from it considering the fact that it can eat me. I try my best to get my seashell shaped body into the corner of the boat to keep our distance. At that moment I did my daily routine without even realizing it. I took in carbon dioxide and turned it into oxygen. The Cladoceran seemed to be fascinated. I continued to do it so I could make a raft to escape the Cladoceran. I then tied it to the boat and sat afloat the raft. I had gathered the food and water from the boat that I need to survive by myself on it. I guess this is how it will be for quite a while.