Fishbowl

The aquarium’s residents plan a prison break. Coy are done playing coy. Patient turtles finally snap. Even mindless jellyfish long for liberation.

Only the octopus knows the way out. She blinds the whistling guard with a blast of ink and pulls him under until the bubbles stop. The murderous mollusk secures the key ring.

She unlocks the lids for the ultimate migration. Mantas leap into the air like Frisbees. Dozens of clownfish cram into a tiny car. Otters hold hands as they cross the street.

Curators and veterinarians pursue the exodus. The octopus raises eight arms to multiply the water. The sea of reeds flows and covers them. Every one of them survive.

Maxwell Bauman is the Owner and Editor-In-Chief of Door Is A Jar Literary Magazine.