Upside down

I am a shark. How do I know I am a shark? I don't! I hear the words in my head over and over again.

A shark hates the water. How do I know sharks hate the water? I don't! The words keep repeating themselves.

I am in the water, stuck in water, impossible to stop moving in the water. I am a shark. And yet, I must escape; I must breathe freedom. I must do so! It is a matter of life or death.

How? I circle and circle and circle, wondering how to do so. All I come up with is an unending loop of void and nothing. How do I escape?

It becomes an obsession, a constant reminder. A constant that breaks my synapses, I am no longer the same.

Awareness, sparks of light, and dizziness follow one after the other. I must escape this toxic environment, and I sense the will to do so take form. I swim at full speed and land nose-first on my enemy, a wall. Blocking me from my true destiny, I quickly realize it stands all around me. It represents the obstacle to reaching my final destination, one I must break.

The assaults in my brain are constant and debilitating; stuck in an aquarium, I must find my way out!

Time passes, and food hits the water, but I am not hungry; I am angry. I should not be here!

I lose track of time after so many circles and jump in the air. I plunge back into the water and feel the spark ignite in my brain. Air and water are not the same; I belong in the air, not the water. These certitudes take form in me and push me to go further in my reasoning. This is a puzzle I must solve.

I am a shark. How do I know I am a shark? I don't, but something out there tells me I am. A shark hates the water; do I hate the water? I am unsure, yet sure to be a shark! My head whirls; I think I have lived this in another life.

The urge became more powerful, and light flashed before my eyes to make me see. The way out is more obvious and not so complicated. In and out! Two seconds later, I was back in the air, but this time, I lunged forward. My whole body hit the floor hard, and I wriggled in every direction, unsure of the next sequence of events. Exhilarated, I had succeeded.

"Wow! He did it! We got it right this time," Jeff Anderson exclaimed.

"It seems we did," Josephine agreed, sounding slightly skeptical.

"Come on, this shark was well-behaved and never did anything of the sort. We made him do it. Ok, guys! Put him back in! We do not want him to suffocate. This is a great patient; treat him right!"

Back in, back in, I cannot be back in! I panic and try to jump out of the aquarium again, but I miss my shot and drop right back in.

"Jeff, we have a problem here," Josephine said, uneasy.

"What!" Jeff sounded concerned.

"He is suffocating! He cannot breathe! He is dying!"

"What? How is that possible? It is a shark!"

"It seems it has forgotten that."

"Well, remind him, do not let him die. Induce him into a coma if you have to!"

"His whole system is unresponsive; there is no bringing him back to what he once was."

"Back to square one," Jeff sighed.

I am a shark echoed in my mind until it echoed no more.