The boy reminded me of myself.
I was just a young fish, just about his age, when, just like him, I was taken. The dentist just zoomed by and took me, just like that. And I didn't even get the chance to say good-bye to my parents. And since then, I've been in this damn tank, just trying, just dreaming, until the guilt consumed me.
This boy was a clownfish. A tiny little guy. Just as tiny as I was, and I wish for nothing more but to help him. I'm going to try to get him out in every way I possibly can. And I feel more hope for him than I do for myself. I know that maybe it won't be tommorrow, maybe it won't be the day after, but someday, he's going to get back to the ocean and he's going to see his dad again. And I bet his dad will be more happy than Nemo could ever know.
The other fish in here don't understand the ocean like him or I do. They were all pet store fish, and they never saw the pure ocean blue. I know the joy he felt at the place so full of life, so vibrant, schools of fish all around him. It was natural for us, both of us. And we both miss it. It was just too bad that you don't know what you have until it's gone. Freedom is like something to breathe - you only realize it when you don't have it.
I remember I was angry at my parents over something stupid. I was young, and I was dumb. And I wanted nothing more but to get away from them - screw them, I thought. Never did I know that was the last time I'd ever see them. For real, anyway. I still have images in my mind of them every time I close my eyes. But that isn't enough. It'll never be enough. And I know it'll never be enough for him, either.
But I still won't stop until I get that kid back home. I know that he won't stop, either. We were both taken, and we both want to go home.
A Finding Nemo fanfic.