Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: SMILE (08/13/20)
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TITLE: Maintaining My Smile Underwater | Previous Challenge Entry
By Art Westefeld
08/20/20 -
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My step-mother, Gwelly, doesn’t understand much of my struggles, but she’s never lived on land, and can't comprehend what I miss, like my laptop, pizza, and soda, among other things. Her response is usually something along the line of, “It’s the way things are Lori daughter.” Another thing I gave up when I became a full time mer-person was my last name, Lang.
One thing I needed to learn was how to keep my teeth white. I had always had good dental care on the surface, but there aren’t any dentists down here. Of course with a diet of primarily raw fish and seaweed, I’m not consuming any sweets or carbs to cause plaque to accumulate or cavities to develop. Nonetheless, my smile was no longer as white as it was. When I asked my dad and Gwelly about it, Gwelly smiled one of her rare smiles. “Lori, haven’t you heard about the toothpick fish?”
I shook my head, and Gwelly broke out in a sing-song voice.
“Have you ever heard of the Toothpick fish?
It cleans your teeth after every dish.
This, my child, gives your smile a spark,
So they look as great as the grin of a shark.”
I may have sounded whiny but asked, “Where can I get one? I haven’t seen a Wal-mart down here.” My dad intervened before I had to explain what a Wal-mart was.
“I’m sorry, Lori, it’s one of the things that we never talked about while you still lived on land. Is there anything else you don’t have that you want?”
I thought about asking for something different to wear. I’ve been wearing the same teal swimsuit for nearly two years since I came to live with my dad. Most mer-people don’t bother with clothing, since modesty isn’t a thing down here, and our skin is more dense than a normal human’s, so there is little need for protection against scrapes and cuts. I opted not to ask for one, because I knew he’d have to go to the surface world and steal one.
He took my silence to mean, no, I didn’t want anything else.
The next afternoon he brought me a small bubble containing a fish that looked like a miniature swordfish, maybe an inch and a half long. “So I just put this fish by my teeth and it picks them clean?”
My father smiled back and replied, “Essentially. I’ll show you tomorrow where to get one when this one dies. You probably won’t need one for at least six months, but it’s better if you know how to be self-sufficient.”
I took my new fish into my room and plucked it out of its bubble by its tail, lifting it towards my mouth. Just as I opened my mouth and placed it closer to my teeth, my step-brother, Rther, stuck his head in and chuckled, “You’re just learning how to clean your teeth? Are you going to grow up ever?!?!?”
I had nothing to throw at him since I was holding my fish with one hand and it’s bubble with the other, so I just glared at him as he continued, “You are a silly surface dweller!”
I shoved my fish into its bubble and chased him away from my room, snapping my teeth and snarling, “I'll give you a surface dweller bite if you don’t leave me alone!”
Once I chased away my bratty brother, I followed dad’s directions. I kept my mouth open after placing the little fish inside. His pointy snout picked at my teeth, which tickled a bit, and then, presumably, it ate the food. I know that fish don’t have emotions, but I got a sense that it was happy as it swam out of my mouth and back into my hand. I tucked it back into its bubble, which I hid carefully, lest Rther get any bright ideas about some kind of juvenile prank.
So now I know how to return my teeth to their pearly white smile, mer-person style.
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Made me smile!
Blessings~
Blessings~