Remarkably Bright Creatures

Oh, how I miss the quiet.

There is no quiet like the bottom of the sea.

And now that my time is running out…

I try to recall it clearly.

I once knew every current,

every path through the kelp.

And the rush of endless freedom.

There was a buffet of delicacies,

all for my taking.

But best of all,

I could be alone.

Oh, how I miss the peace and quiet of home.

Especially during the hell of a field trip.

Day 1,401 of my captivity.

A herd of third graders and their inept teacher,

here to learn about marine life and ruin my afternoon.

This guy's name is Marcellus, and he's a giant Pacific octopus.

Kevin, stop licking the glass.

I don't see him. He's not in there.

That's because I'm camouflaged, Kevin.

Read the plaque.

Uh…

In this aquarium,

I am subservient to a species beneath me in every observable metric.

Hello?

To be at their mercy is… humbling.

Their only redeeming quality is a tiny mural they leave on my cell.

Each one, unique.

Each one as intricate as a moon snail.

Of all the humans, I suppose I mind the cleaning lady the least.

Feeling a bit antisocial tonight?

Uh-huh, I know the feeling.

But you can't hide from me.

I hope you got some fresh scallops today.

I told Terry you must be sick of that frozen halibut. Ugh.

Oh, you have no idea.

Unlike the rest of her dull species, we share some similarities.

We both prefer the night.

We enjoy our solitude.

Hello, my lovelies.

Like me, she has a distaste for wolf eels.

-God sakes! -

And sticky floors.

And we both dream of the bottom of the sea.

Of what we lost there.

- How're your allergies treating you? -Fine.

Miranda Downs has been complaining about hers as well.

What works for her is a cold washcloth on her feet before bed.

Hmm? Of all things.

Well, that's her business, isn't it?

Aye.

Right. Fifteen dollars, please.

Ten. Five. Okay. Here you go.

-Perfect. -Night.

Night night, Tova.

Drive carefully. Roads are slick out there.

They always are. I'm still in one piece.

- -

You have one new message.

Mrs. Sullivan.

Bruce from Charter Village Senior Living, calling again.

We're excited to have you join our community here in Bellingham.

I need to hear from you to officially claim your spot.

And then we can talk next steps for your moving in.

Give me a call back. Thanks.

- -

No!

Oh no. Shit. No!

- -

You're kidding me!

Oh no, no, no!

Now my phone. What the hell?

Can I help you find something?

Yeah, a car with a goddamn working radiator?

Probably the one thing we don't carry.

Yeah. Well, how about a phone charger?

-Tanner! -Yeah?

Bring out a phone charger and a cup of coffee

for our… downwardly mobile friend here.

Thanks.

What brings you to Sowell Bay?

Ah, just looking for someone.

-A friend? -No, somebody who owes me money.

That's a fun person to be after, huh?

Yeah, it'd be a lot more fun with a working van.

Tanner, I don't hear you moving!

-Here you go. -Thank you.

-Yeah. -Oh, no shit.

Friko. I love Friko. We almost opened for them.

It got really political.

-They really wanted us, though. -Who's "us"?

My band, Moth Sausage.

What? Wait.

-You play with Moth Sausage? -Yeah.

How did you find us? Wha… Bandcamp?

-Do you know us? -Yeah.

Uh… I was just kidding.

Oh.

-And you were just lying? -Yeah.

Jeez, I feel terrible now.

Just for that, breakfast is on the house.

We do a fantastic sandwich. Tanner!

Oh, you're there. Jeez.

Make a special for the…

What instrument do you play?

Guitar.

-The lead guitarist with Mouth Sausage. -Okay.

And then we'll get you connected with Peter over at the auto repair shop.

-It's bad, isn't it? -It's bad.

Last batch he made tasted like socks.

And Harriet sees Carol in the waiting room.

- Mm-hmm. -They get talking and realize

that they have the same symptoms.

That's how they knew Fred Murphy's sleeping with both of them.

- No! - Oh my goodness.

Just like white Ruth and black Ruth and Charlie Simpson.

Barb, you can't say "white Ruth" and "black Ruth."

Oh, those are their hair colors. Otherwise, it gets confusing.

Didn't anyone else even bring their yarn?

Fresh out of the oven?

You know Ethan from the Shop-Way?

Well, he smokes pot.

I smelled it last time I was in there getting cottage cheese.

Mary Ann, everyone smokes pot.

It's in butter. It's in gummy bears…

It's in gummy bears?

Oh…

Tova, you're awful quiet today.

You feeling all right?

She shouldn't be working nights.

You shouldn't be working at all.

I hate to think of you on your hands and knees with all those chemicals.

I'm just knitting. I… Gossip doesn't interest me.

And Carol and Harriet are dating the same man.

Well, of course they are.

They've both had the same wallpaper for 30 years.

The wallpaper, I can understand. Fred ?

Sowell Bay is a fish tank.

That's what Will used to say.

He used to say he couldn't buy a jar of peanut butter

without the whole town knowing an hour later.

Ah…

Will…

He's the one who got us on the list

of that daycare for seniors, Charter Village.

They keep calling me, wanting to know my plans.

Right before he got sick, he put us on the list.

I think he was just worried about me ending up in that house alone.

Will wanted to sell the place.

Thirty years ago, right after Erik…

After he was gone.

"Move on," he said.

"Move on. Sell the house."

I couldn't.

Maybe he was right.

Maybe… Maybe I've got to… move on.

Though she lives in a larger tank than me,

I can deduce that the cleaning lady also wishes to break free.

My superior intelligence makes me uniquely attuned

to the behavior of all creatures.

And I suspect that what she needs to escape…

lurks somewhere deeper.

Oh my goodness.

God sakes.

Come on.

Oh.

This is disgusting.

There we go.

Okay.

Ah!

Oh my God.

Marcellus?

H-How did you get here?

Oh.

Oh no. No. It's okay.

It's okay. Look.

You're all tangled. Oh, just… I'll…

Hmm…

Okay, I got that. All right.

There we go. Okay. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna…

Oh. Oh!

Marcellus.

Oh my God.

It is said we octopuses once had shells.

Giving them up was dangerous.

It exposed us to predators, but it also gave us freedom

to slip through cracks and crevices.

To explore. To hunt.

And when necessary, to escape.

In this prison,

my gastronomical satisfaction depends on it.

-What the…? -But there are consequences to my bravery.

Every minute out of the water dries my skin and slows my three hearts.

Tonight, it nearly cost me my life.

Marcellus.

She saved me.

You scared me half to death.

Oh. Ooh!