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It sounded exciting when the idea was first proposed, but now that the day has finally arrived, Hugo is nervous about his pedalo ride with the Tall Mister. His friend reassured him on their way to the shore of the plastic sea that there was nothing to be frightened of, but the plastic still scares little Hugo. It’s viscous and sloppy, an endless, bubbling expanse of pale ooze. Worst of all is that he can’t see the bottom. That’s the part that scares him the most.
Barely reaching higher than the man’s knobby kneecaps, the toddler clings to the Tall Mister’s woolen coat. “But what if I fall off the boat? I can’t swim.”
The Tall Mister looks down at the terrified child and chuckles. “Then I‘ll jump in and save you.”
Hugo’s eyes goggle in astonishment, and he looks from the Tall Mister’s crisp, starched coat to the man’s slightly smiling face. “Even with your coat on?” When his companion nods, Hugo continues, totally baffled by his friend’s affirmative answer, “But won’t it get dirty? Mother is always yelling at me if I get my clothes dirty.”
The Tall Mister is trying his best not to laugh. His bony shoulders shake under the thick padding of his coat. “Well, my boy, when you’re older and grown-up like me, you don’t have to worry about getting your clothes dirty. You can get them as filthy as you please, and you won’t have to give a damn.”
“Wow…” Hugo marvels at the thought. Never having to worry about soiling his clothes? That alone sounds wonderful. If that’s what waits for him in the future, Hugo can’t wait to become a grown-up.
A boat in the elegant shape of a swan approaches and docks at the platform. With a sudden jolt of anxiety, Hugo remembers why he and the Tall Mister are here. He’s excited about the adventure, but still a little frightened.
The Tall Mister steps onto the pedalo, which rocks slightly under his weight. He extends a spindly hand for Hugo to grab. “C’mon, now. I won’t let you slip.”
Trembling in both anticipation and fear, Hugo grabs his friend’s hand and is gently helped aboard the boat. He immediately settles down beside the Tall Mister and snuggles into the man’s coat, feeling safe and secure against his mighty companion’s side. But suddenly the boat jerks forward and separates itself from the platform, so Hugo hides his face into the wooly sanctuary of the Tall Mister’s coat, afraid to look out at the slowly churning sea of plastic. He does not want to see the platform as it grows smaller and smaller, eventually disappearing into the distance.
“Oh, stop that.” Strong hands gently peel him away from his cozy hideaway. The Tall Mister seats Hugo on his lap so that the boy can see over the pedalo’s edge. “Your mother and the rest of us worked so hard to make this world for you. For all of us. It might not be what it once was,” his lanky fingers comb lovingly through the boy’s corn silk hair, “but it’s still wonderful.”
Hugo is terrified, but he trusts the Tall Mister; loves him even more than his own father, who is barely around anyway and who would have never taken him on a trip like this, so he opens his eyes and takes a peek over the edge.
The plastic ripples outward from the boat, a strange thing to watch in a liquid as thick as chocolate syrup. It has a bitter, although not entirely unpleasant, smell that is carried on the air as it teases the wisps of the young boy’s hair. He still can not see the bottom of the sea, but while seated on the Tall Mister’s lap, the sea’s unknown depths cease to be frightening.
A sudden cluster of bubbles rise out from the pale goop and Hugo jolts away from the pedalo’s edge, fearing that some sort of monster is about to erupt from the plastic sea. Rather than a monster, a fish with gleaming red and green scales launches itself out of the ooze. Thrashing and flinging beads of plastic on its small audience, it leaps over their boat in a perfect arc. Sunlight dances off its iridescent flesh, sparkling and gleaming with the creature’s every move. Hugo can’t look away. It’s stunning.
And then, with a soupy plop, the fish is gone.
His mouth agape in astonishment, Hugo looks back to the Tall Mister. The man is smiling.
“Did you see that?” Hugo bounces up and down excitedly in the Tall Mister’s lap, the movement causing the boat to bob lightly. “Oh my gosh, did you see that?”
Hugo’s smile is so large that his cheeks almost ache. The Tall Mister was right. This really is a wonderful world.