William Kim
Frisco, TX
2024, Senior, Creative Writing

It was a bright Sunday afternoon in Seoul. I walked down the street, a grocery bag in one hand and my other hand holding onto my older sister. We exchanged small talk and occasional laughs until we arrived at our apartment building.

Stepping into the elevator, I smelled a familiar and comforting aroma. “Mmm, can you smell that?” I asked her, my stomach rumbling. “It’s Mom’s famous chicken soup!” The aroma grew richer as we ascended, making me feel hungrier and hungrier. My sister laughed lightly at my impatience. As soon as the elevator dinged, I rushed to the door, flinging it open.

“Is that you William?” Mom called from the kitchen.

“Yeah, I’m home!” I replied, excitement in my voice.

“Did you bring everything I asked for?”

“I think so. Got tomatoes, spinach and carrots.”

“Great! And the Guppy food?”

“Got that too.”

I set the groceries on the kitchen table and went to my room, guppy food in my hand. As I stepped in, I was struck by an eerie quiet; the usual bubbling from the fish tank was absent. My heart sank as I approached the tank. There, a sad sight met my eyes – my guppies were floating lifelessly, their bellies turned upwards.

“Mom! Do guppies sleep with their belly up?” I yelled, panic rising in my voice.

“What?” Mom’s footsteps hurried towards me.

“They’re upside down,” I said, pointing to the tank.

Mom’s frown deepened as she checked the water. “What’s the temperature?” she asked.

“82 degrees,” I replied.

“Oh no, that’s too high. They can’t survive in water above 78 degrees.”

“But it’s just a few degrees more,” I said, my voice tinged with despair.

“A few degrees is all it takes, ” she said gently.

I slumped down, fighting back tears. “We even had a temperature controller. What went wrong?”

Hours passed as I lay on my bed, lost in thoughts. The aroma of dinner eventually wafted into my room, and I heard Mom’s voice, softer this time. “William, dinner’s ready. Come and eat.” “Come have dinner William.” She called.

“I’m not hungry,” I muttered, my voice a hint of frustration. The rest of the evening passed in a blur, my mind clouded with thoughts of my guppies. I barely noticed the night slipping away until the abrupt break of dawn. The next thing I knew, Mom’s urgent voice was piercing the morning stillness. “William, hurry up! You’ll be late for school!” Her call jolted me back to reality, and I scrambled out of bed.

I quickly gathered my school things, tossing crayons, textbooks, and homework into my backpack. . My morning activities were rushed and mechanical. Checking the clock as I left home, it was 7:45 – I was right on schedule for school. The walk to school was quiet, my mind still echoing with the events of the previous day, a silent reverie only broken as I entered the bustling classroom.

In class, Mr. McDonald announced a free period. The room filled with the sounds of kids playing, but I couldn’t join in.

“William, come play with us! a classmate called.

“Uh, not now,” I responded, my voice low.

Mr. McDonald noticed my mood. “Everything okay, Will?” he asked.

“Something bad happened,” I said, my voice unsteady. “My fish died.”

“That’s tough. What kind were they?”

“Guppies,” I muttered, looking down.

“Oh, guppies are neat,” Mr. McDonald reminisced with a soft smile. “I had some as a kid. Lost mine, too, when we went on a trip and forgot to tell Grandma to feed them. Did something like that happen to yours?”

I shuffled my feet, looking down. “I don’t think so. The water… it was too hot, I guess. Around 82 degrees.”

Mr. McDonald raised his eyebrows in understanding. “Ah, that’s definitely too warm for them. Guppies can’t handle big temperature swings. They’re pretty sensitive creatures”

Then my stomach growled. I had not eaten since last night. Mr. McDonald noticed and offered half of his sandwich.

As I ate, Mr. McDonald explained how guppies, being ectothermic, are highly sensitive to even small temperature changes.

“But what about the fish when it gets cold in winter and hot in summer?” I frowned.

“Ah, good point. But see, fish are clever—some of them move to different places, kinda like birds migrating. They find spots where the temperature’s just right.”

“So, are the fish in the ocean safe?” I asked.

“Not quite. Remember, global warming, a direct result of climate change, is also destroying animal habitats, which affect the animals’ migration patterns,” Mr. McDonald replied. “Some fish and other marine life die because of warmer water caused by climate change.”

I wrinkled my forehead, puzzled. “But why is everything getting warmer?”

Mr. McDonald knelt down to my level. “You see, William, it’s like this – our oceans soak up a lot of heat and even the ’bad air’ we call carbon dioxide. This makes the water too warm and a bit sour, which isn’t good for the fish and plants living there, like those pretty coral reefs you see in pictures.”

I looked up at Mr. McDonald, curious.“But what exactly is global warming?”

Mr. McDonald smiled a little. “Think of it like this, William. When the Earth gets a ’fever’ from things people do, it starts to heat up, just like when we get a fever. So, since a long time ago, like in 1880, the Earth has been getting warmer, slowly.

Mr. McDonald scratched his chin, thinking. “How much did the water temperature change in your tank?”

I shrugged slightly. “Like, 4 degrees, I guess.”

“Interestingly, in the last 50 years, the ocean’s average surface temperature has risen by 1 degrees fahrenheit,” he explained.

“That doesn’t sound like a lot,” I commented.

“It may not, but even a 1-degree change can be significant,” Mr. McDonald said. “Many sea creatures have died because of it. Can you guess how many?”

“Thousands?” I ventured.

“Actually, it’s about one Billion,” he corrected gently.

“One billion?” I repeated, shocked.

“Yes, it’s hard to believe. One Billion sea creatures, affected by climate change, and it is getting worse every year,” he said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

My eyes widened. “Should we tell the police?” I asked. I always thought they could fix everything.

He gave a small, thoughtful smile. “Well, climate change is a challenge bigger than something the police can handle. It’s a global issue, but we can contribute to the solution through small actions, like using public transportation or turning off electronics not in use.”

As the bell rang, signaling the end of the period, I gathered my things. “Time already? See you tomorrow, Mr. McDonald!”

I sat at my desk, waiting for the next class, deep in thought about my guppies and everything Mr. McDonald had shared about climate change.

Works Cited

Aquariumlabs. “Guppy Temperature – Ideal Min & Max Guppy Fish Temperature.” Aquarium Labs, 2 Apr. 2022, aquariumlabs.water.blog/2022/04/02/guppy-temperature-ideal-min-max-guppy-fish-temperature/.

Bearly, Irene. “Care Guide for Guppies – the Most Popular and Colorful Livebearer.” Op, Aquarium Co-Op, 17 Feb. 2020, www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/guppy-care-guide.

Einhorn, Catrin. “Like in ‘Postapocalyptic Movies’: Heat Wave Killed Marine Wildlife En Masse.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 July 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/07/09/climate/marine-heat-wave.html.

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