Magic, Fishy Water

It was a meteorite: grayish blue with nooks and crannies like swiss cheese...or a brain. It had floated in the farthest reaches of the galaxy for eons. So many circles around nebulas; so many brushes with asteroids and moons! It picked up, like a virus, a particle of awareness. And as everyone knows awareness must expand: it's a law of the universe. And expand it did, so that every space in its holey-rocklike being was cram-packed with awareness. It was spilling over with it.

The meteorite loved floating in the cold ether, avoiding gravitational pulls and hitting space debris- it got exciting at times. Yet, it was still aware in its rocklike heart and soul that it would always be a rock, and a mute one. This was the hardest thing to bear. It was tired of its solitary existence and wanted to make a difference somewhere. Its only hope was to land in a special, magical place - a place that would have a voice and be ready to receive the message the rock contained in every particle of it's being.

The meteorite eventually showed up on NASA's instruments. Since it was small it did not pose a threat to the inhabitants of Earth. No one knew where it came from, and no one knew where it was going. No one cared. All they knew was that it came from outer space, or maybe heaven, who could say? Heaven would, of course, not be mentioned by the scientists at NASA, not even afterwards. They just expected it to burn up in the atmosphere, so it did not get coverage on the news, so insignificant it was. However it was given a number, and that number was 2153. It did not get a name until later, after the Media got a figurative hold on it.

A meteorite with awareness does not burn up like average meteorites; it's an unknown law of the universe. So the meteorite came down without much notice one summer afternoon in the middle of Lake Superior. It made a big splash and a small fizz. Anyone who witnessed it would have thought it a large fish breaking the surface of the water to feed. But, like a fish, after it hit the surface of the water, it descended deeper and deeper, where it stayed on the sandy bottom of the Lake for nearly 20 years. Until now.

Now, the lakes movement and action of the water on #2153 finally dissolved it. The molecules of the rock broke up into tiny particles invisible to the naked eye, but capable of being swallowed and digested by any living thing, beginning with a large and mean looking carp, a species of fish native to most freshwater lakes. The carp has a large yellowish, oily body, and very large mouth, and is often caught by local fishermen.

An old fisherman by the name of George caught the fish that had eaten some molecules from Meteorite #2153. George also knew of the meteorite that had fallen into the lake, for he'd fished Superior for years, and had seen the meteorite hit with his own eyes. He had not yet connected the two in his mind.

One frigid, dismal night in need of a little magic, when George hauled up his net, there was the carp gazing at him with a most benevolent expression. It was an average-looking carp, just as the meteorite had looked average. But often average-looking things contain extraordinary talents, and this oily, ordinary carp had talent hitherto unknown to the average world. He could talk. Yes, talk.

There was no one more surprised to hear it than George. And what news he heard! The carp, in plain English spoke fluently. First he asked to be returned to the water. George immediately complied, wouldn't you? But George was no dummy. He kept the carp securely contained in the net as he lowered it into the water.

There was some friendly smalltalk at first, but I won't bore you with that. What was important was that the carp suggested some secrets of life to George. They were ideas that George, of course, knew, but was sure people might want to hear again, especially coming from a talking fish. The carp told George that the world should know that we were all supposed to love and care for each other, and not hurt one another. George thought he had seen a movie with this message once many years ago, but sometimes messages need repeating.

"C'mon ol'carpy that's pretty tired stuff. We already know all of that!" George said.

"You do? But, you don't act like it."

George nodded sadly, then brightened.

"Yah, but don't you have a better message. Something new and snappy!"

"Well....sure...drink more water...."

"And?"

"You want more messages than that?"

"If it's not too much trouble..."

"Get outside in the sunshine. It's more important than you know for living things to get sun and fresh air..."

"And, and?"

"And...there is more to life than you think on this tiny little planet of yours. Much more....you have no idea!"

"Like what?"

"I can't explain that until you guys have started treating each other better....mastering those basic laws. You're sitting on a miracle here..."

Of course, George, though no dummy, was not brilliant either. He thought the talking fish was the miracle.

"In other words, you won't tell me what the miracle is?" asked George.

The fish smiled mysteriously and with a solid snap, closed it's large maw. Then there was silence on the Lake, silence even thicker than before.

Soon the Media got the story and NASA corraborated that a meteorite numbered 2153 had indeed landed in this lake, many years ago. That was enough to convince the public and skeptical scientists that magic was at work here. Indeed, the fish was seen talking his lungs out, even on camera and TV, so the world knew it was really happening. The carp got to be a famous fish and people were amazed. It would be heartwarming to say that this began a new era of peace on earth and goodwill towards men, but it didn't. What really happened was that the fish was killed and dissected for science, and some clever entrepreneur sold bottled water from Lake Superior, for it was now enchanted, fishy water that had harbored the first talking fish!

Everyone began drinking the water as soon as it was deemed harmless. And the water had a strange effect. Every person who drank it, became enlightened (and also a bit yellow around the gills, but that's another story.) When a man drank the water, he told his brother, whom he hadn't spoken to in years, that he loved him and was sorry for all the pain he caused. When a woman drank the water, she decided to be a friend to her neighbor who was sick, destitute and friendless. Another woman who imbibed the water started praying again, in earnest. There were other stories and more miracles caused by this magic water. The media even sent the water to the Middle East with the words: American water - danger, do not drink! That made everyone give it to their enemies, who drank it, and eventually began loving each other again instead of killing each other.

Finally the scientific report from the dissection was released: inside of the carp were merely digested sand molecules, bugs and particles from the Earth, or maybe particles from Heaven, who could say? That was all. But later, they renamed the ignored meteorite George's Blessing #2153. And the man who bottled the water made a fortune.

Oh, and the carp? He was thrown to the fishes, and everyone knows what will happen next. It is only a matter of time. The water, however, is still available.