Edward and the aquifer

Edward works in tech downtown Austin. Every evening, he drives his Cybertruck back to his home in Westlake. Edward loves clicking buttons for a living. It brings him much money and status. Edward does not like sitting in traffic every night. His designer guard dog, Menace, is waiting for him at home. Plus, here is a girl who is young and properly impressed by his money and status, whom he would like to take on a date tonight.

His Cybertruck is crawling along MoPac, and the empty space in his heart fills up with anger. Why can’t the city make MoPac bigger to accommodate his big car?

He pays enough taxes for this after all. All this time lost in traffic! Everyone knows that time is money.

Traffic came to a full stop. Edward reverts to praying in this desperate time. He asks God to get him out of there.

To his great surprise, God listens. The Earth cracks under his car, and he and the car start to sink into the melting asphalt. Panic hits him. Should he get out of the car? He couldn’t possibly abandon his beloved truck!

His heart pounding in his chest, he looks at the road rise to the level of his windows before swallowing the car entirely.

It is dark now and strangely cool. The heat of the surface recedes underground.

Edward turns on his headlights and sees bubbles rising: he is submerged in water!

What is going on? Good thing he decided to buy a tank-like contraption to commute to work.

The lights of his trucks turn off suddenly, and he is immersed in darkness once again. Not seeing makes him nervous. 

“Don’t be alarmed,” says a sweet and delicate voice. My children prefer the darkness. I heard your prayer and decided to answer it.”

”Who are you?”

“I am the Goddess of the Spring, and I agree with you. Sitting in a metal box under the roasting sun is no way to live your life.”

”I didn’t ask for help from no Goddess. I was addressing our Lord and Savior, who is in the sky.”

”Most do, nowadays. He is pretty busy though, so I thought I’d give you both a hand.”

Edward recoils at accepting help from a woman. Doesn’t she know that men are meant to lead?

Maybe he should show her.

”Look, lady, I understand that you must be a big deal in your little underwater world, but I am important in the real world, ok? I have no time for your bullshit.”

”You are certainly important enough to have your prayer answered. Tell me, Edward, what do you do?”

”I leverage the power of AI to upscale the software industry.”

”That certainly sounds important. Can you show me?”

”Of course not, I don’t have my computer. What do YOU do anyway?”

”I give birth and manage life in this area.”

“I see, you are a stay-at-home mom then…”

“Sort of. I can show you what I do if you’d like.”

”If I play along, will you set me free? I have a date tonight.”

”Love? Oh, I wouldn’t want you to be late for that! It will take no time at all, and who knows? You might learn something”

”Fine. Show me then.”

Once he gave his consent, Edward was sucked out of his truck and into the water.

This was terrifying. He still couldn’t see a thing, but he found he could perceive, as if his other senses were taking over.

He held his breath as long as he could, but the voice of the Goddess reached his ears, telling him to breathe.

All of his instincts were telling him not to, but once he could no longer hold his breath, he inhaled deeply and the water was nourishing instead of deadly. 

Taking it in through his gills, through his skin, the cool water was life-giving.

“What did you do to my body?!”

”I just made it more efficient for the environment. No human ever comes this deep.”

Edward swam around, testing the limits of his new body. His senses detect a kin. Another human? No, he is no longer human now. What is he exactly?

”Hello, friend,” says a congenial voice.

”What are you?”

”My name is Newt. I’m a salamander, duh! Just like you.”

”I’m not like you! I’m human.”

”Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

”Why would you be sorry? Being human is awesome. I could eat you for breakfast.”

”I don’t have much human interaction, to be honest, but my brothers and sisters near the surface are saying humans are sad. Deeply so. It drives them to destruction because sadness creates a hole inside themselves, and they go to great lengths to fill it so it stops hurting.”

“Shows what you know. We humans are superior. When we destroy it’s to rebuild better. Plus, we have to eat.”

“Oh, I understand that. Survival is hard work.”

”Humans have risen above survival. We are thriving as a species.”

”Wow. Thank you for telling me. I’ll tell Frank this hole of pain inside humans is a myth.”

”Yes. You do that. I’d like to meet this Frank and give him a piece of my mind.”

 “Great. He lives near the surface. Follow me, human-salamander!”

As Edward swam up after Newt, he felt as if he were gliding through water, his body perfectly adapted to the cool water and dark depths of the aquifer. It was quite a long swim, and as he elevated, he reflected on what Newt had said. 

His body was very different right now, obviously, but something else had changed inside him. He felt…light, content and…whole?

”Goddess?” He asked tentatively, “I was feeling really frustrated a minute ago. Where did it all go?”

”The frustration is still there, but it is part of your human body. You shall be reunited with it once you decide to go back.”

Edward was in no hurry to be reunited with his frustration. This body was fast and supple. He was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

He felt like more light was trying to penetrate his blind salamander eyes, and was the water getting slightly warmer?

Suddenly, a current started pushing him towards the surface.

”Newt?” He said anxiously.

”Relax, the water is here to help you, don’t fight the current, ride it.”

So Edward did, and it was one of the most freeing sensations he’d ever experienced. Surrender. Trusting the water, he let it take control and was rewarded by effortless momentum.

When the current stopped, his paws registered hard stone underneath him, and the silence of the depth was replaced by a deafening cacophony.

”I know,” said Newt. “This is why I usually keep to the depths. There are many friends up here, though. Follow me.”

Edward followed, keeping his paws on the limestone. The water was moving in many directions here, including a few instances that felt like explosions.

”Hi Frank!” Said Newt, and Edwards' senses registered that Frank was no salamander. Bigger, scalier, faster: Frank was a fish.

”Hey Newt, long time no see. I thought you said you’d never come topside again after your last visit.”

”I’m showing the newbie around.”

”Ohhh…” said Frank, “A new conquest of yours?”

”Absolutely not!” exclaimed Edward, outraged at the thought of his romantic prospect of the night shifting from a pretty girl to a male salamander. 

“This was fun, pal, but I am going back down the aquifer. Frank will show you around.”

Without delay, Newt left Edward.

He was about to ask Frank about this whole nonsense he was spreading about humans, but the fish said “Hide” and swam under a large stone. 

Edward followed, sensing Frank’s panic. Under the rock was another fish, protecting a few tiny ones.

“Hi, honey, I saw the shadow of a cormorant.”

Edward felt vulnerable in his salamander body and everything was so damn loud. He wished he were a fish as well so he’d have scales to protect his mushy body, and now that there was light, he wished he could see.

No sooner had he made this wish than his eyes started to see but on either side of his head. He was a fish!

Frank startled, “Who are you?”

”I’m Edward the salamander. I’m a fish now, but really, I am a human shapeshifting. Which leads me to my question for you. Did you tell Newt that humans were empty inside?”

“I’m just saying what I observe. I see a lot of humans here every day, and they talk so much. Oh, here is one coming.”

One of the explosions Edward had heard as a salamander detonated. He saw a massive foot kick powerfully inches from his head. Rude!

At least now he could see the threatening foot coming.

“I hear humans talk about loneliness and lack of purpose. They say the sadness and stress they carry around feels a little lighter when they come here, but they can’t come as much as they’d like because “you know…life gets in the way.” Tell me, Edward, what do they mean? What more is there to life than this?”

”I’m glad you asked. The world outside is much bigger and busier. Most people spend the week at work and the weekend with their family and friends. They don’t have time to visit you and your Goddess.”

”Goddess? You mean Mother?”

”Sure, whatever you call her. The one who brought me here.”

”The Mother is responsible for everyone’s life, including humans. So this work is your natural element? Humans are designed to work?”

”I guess so. What do you mean by natural element?”

”I am a fish. I was designed to swim, eat this plant, and make other fish. What were humans made for?”

“We walk and eat and reproduce as well, but this is basic design if you ask me. The water, you, the plants, the rocks…you are all part of nature. Humans have evolved beyond nature.”

”Interesting. Your life must be much better than ours then. The thing is, I hear humans complain SO MUCH. Fish don’t really complain.”

The lady fish added, “I heard my friend complain once when the cormorant ate her children. Do you have predators eating your children? Or eating your food?”

“No. That’s what I was trying to explain. We are at the top of the food chain. There is nothing above humans.”

“Then you must be the happiest species on Earth!”

Edward thought of this. He thought of his therapist and the antidepressant he was taking sometimes, the panic attacks that would make him feel like he was dying, the long weekend spent alone, and the hole in his human heart.

Edward looked at the fish family with his fish eyes. They were never lonely. Looking inside his little fish heart, Edward realized that as a fish, he had no hole in his heart. He had the water and food and other fish, he had everything. 

He must have looked vacant because Frank said:

“You should talk to Martha. She has been around for much longer than me and she can explain better than I do.”

Frank swam away into the long stems of a patch of water plants. Edward followed.

”Hi, Martha. There is someone here you should meet.”

Through one of his eyes, Edward saw the distorted shape of a turtle.

Slowly, Martha rose to meet them, and Frank said, “Hide!”

Reflexively, Edward hid lower in the grasses and saw Martha give them a condescending smile.

I wish I were a turtle, so I didn’t have to hide from cormorants, thought Edward. 

Now he felt a heavy shell settle on his back and a languor in his movement.

“And he changes again, I’m going back to the missus, and tiddlers,” Frank said before disappearing into the forest of vegetation. 

Edward asked, “Martha, do you know why humans are miserable?”

“Humans changed. Generations ago, they were drawn to this place in devotion. Many tribes worshipped the Goddess of the Spring. Imagine back then, in the arid land of central Texas, spring water burst forth from the Earth. A true gift. A true miracle.”

”Well, sure. They were savages; we are civilized. We have air-conditioning now.”

Martha looked at him with her large, beady eye and took her time before replying.

“What is it your heart desires, Edward?”

“I was brought down here because I wished for MoPac to be bigger so I didn’t have to sit in traffic every night.”

“Will that solve the deeper issue?” she asked with a drawl.

He was going to say that, of course, it would solve his commute and he’d be happier as a result. But taking a page from Martha’s book, he took his time before answering and realized that the emptiness in his heart was there before the bad commute, it was there before he moved to Austin. He sees it reflected in his peers and parents, so surely he is normal for feeling that way. It must be the human condition. Frank said as much.

Instead, he said, “These people long ago, were they happy?”

Martha smiled slowly and said, “You are starting to ask the right questions. They were…different from the people I see today. They worshipped the four major fountain springs of Texas: Barton, San Pedro, Comal, and San Marco. They used the water for purification rituals and as spirit water, connecting them to their ancestors and guides. They lived in harmony with nature.”

“That’s hardly an answer to my question.”

She smiled again, her deeply wrinkled face extending. “They felt that the health of the spring reflected their own. They honored these waters as a way to keep their people healthy and happy.”

“Well, that was the old days. We have hospitals now to keep people healthy.”

“Perhaps this generation needs to focus on keeping people happy then.”

Before he could reply, Edward was sucked underground by an invisible current that left Martha untouched. A moment later, he found himself back in human form, in his truck.

The voice of the Goddess resounded through the truck's speakers. 

“If you visit me and honor me, Edward, I will teach you how to fill this missing piece inside your heart. The one humans like to ignore or fill with fear and sadness. I brought you here today so you’ll understand. An extension of MoPac will compromise my health, and it will bring harm or death to my children. Newt, Frank, and his family, Martha, and many others will be put at risk.”

The Cybertruck started to lift through the waters. Before it reached the surface, Edward asked, “Tell me, Goddess, what am I missing? What is supposed to fill my heart where pain now lives?”

“Connection, Edward. Connection to yourself, to others, to nature, and to the divine.”

With these last words, the truck regained its place on the highway, and Edward stood once again in traffic, stunned.