Lights. Many little lights. There are always lights. This is different. More lights. More colors. Sparkling. Pretty. But strange. There is something wrong with the people. They are anxious. Tense. Moody. People are always moody. This is different. They are all moody. All of them. For no reason. This is wrong. It is the lights. People were fine until lights came. Lights came and people began to act strange. People brought lights. Other sparklies too. Sparklies like lights, but not lights. Streamers like iridescent seaweed. Shimmery bits like little fish tied to plants. Lights on plants too. And streamers. All bundled together. Very stange. People laugh. People cry. No pattern. Lucas says good day comes soon. But Lucas not happy. Lucas pretends to be happy. Lucas lies. Not happy. Lights are bad.

Dagwood comes. Dagwood spreads tendrils on end of his right flipper wide and moves the elongated limb from side to side. It means hello. Dagwood twists his flipper back to front. Dagwood moves his flipper toward himself several times. It looks painful. People can do it easily. It means come here. Dagwood is smart for a people. Dagwood speaks clearly. Most people cannot.

Darwin swims to Dagwood and Dagwood is waiting at the surface of the water. Dagwood speaks, "I have something for you." Dagwood lifts a sack up into the air. It is shimmery and crinkles in his hand. It is tangled at the top with more sparkly strings. Darwin waits. Dagwood speaks again, "I'll open it for you." Dagwood's tendrils shred the sack apart. Dagwood shakes off tangling, sparkling ropes and holds up a bundle of material. Dagwood unrolls the bundle and holds up the material for Darwin to see. Darwin sees colors and shapes. Darwin sees an eye. Darwin sees a flipper. Darwin sees a fin. Darwin sees . . . Darwin. "I painted it myself," says Dagwood.

Darwin considers. "Darwin pretty," Darwin says.

Dagwood bares his teeth. It means he is happy. "I'm going to hang it up for you," Dagwood says. "I'm going to hang it on your tube. And I'm going to hang it the right way, so you can see it from the inside." Dagwood pauses. Dagwood speaks again. "Merry Christmas, Darwin."

Lights not so bad after all.

THE END