“Gulp! Gulp!”
Oncor’s nearest brother took a mouthful above the waterline, swimming downward as another brother lunged up for food. This was the last meal for most them as they were entering the meeting place of the two waters. Oncor had eaten earlier in the salty water, wanting to conserve his energy, starting to feel the push of the river against him.
Later on, once they were underway a good ways down the river, Oncor swam slightly ahead, placing himself in the midst of the nearest cluster of swimmers. Although the current pushed against them, the mass of the others managed to press Oncor's narrow body forward. Oncor smelled the scent, still in the distance, but getting closer, that scent of home. It was not going to be too much longer. The others moved upwards, the floor of the river, now rocky instead of muddy, moving upward as well. The smell became stronger with every major push.
The rocks beneath grew larger as they pressed on, some rising to heights that rose out of the water itself, a signal that it was time to start leaping from the water. As Oncor readied himself to jump he noticed a flurry of bubbles ahead, thin streams of red following. Oncor backed off when he saw something large and furry plunge down into the water in front of him, causing the group to fling apart. One of Oncor's brothers flung out from his side, seemingly using this break-up of the cluster to get ahead. Oncor jumped without a second thought, feeling the rocks beneath him grind against his belly as he leaped. The cold air hit his body from all sides as he took in the sights about him. A great creature stood on four legs in front of him, raising its massive head out of the water. As Oncor flung over the beast he took a glance down and saw the brother who had just sped passed him below, now bloodied in the jaws of the creature, his hooked mouth gaping open and eyes bulging.
Oncor landed in shallow, rushing water, and instantly leaped out again. All around him other brothers did the same, flying through the air, using their full energy to push forward and upward. Oncor kept jumping, seeing the big furry creatures, a whole group of them now, gathering around the rushing waters, grabbing up others. The water rapidly went from white to red. Each time Oncor landed he received a whole mouthful of watery blood, yet he kept on jumping, using all the energy he had carefully saved earlier in the journey.
When night fell they were still jumping. The predators were gone, but the river still flowed against them. The current finally calmed by morning. All Oncor's companions, those few that were left, started bunching together in the stiller, calm green waters. Underwater again Oncor could smell home, now stronger than ever. They were almost there. Oncor had taken a slight scratch from one of the jagged rocks at one point, had lost blood, but not enough to take away his will to press on. He was too close to give up now, pressing forward though his whole body ached with each movement.
As the sky became light again, Oncor took a look around the others as they entered into a marshy stream, now all looking pale, no longer the bright reds they were before. The smell of home was overwhelming as the group entered a shallow lake. The females were already and the bottom and had been digging out spots in the gravel. With the arrival of the males, they paired off, and did what they had come to do. Oncor, having found a female and a suitable nest, released his seed, feeling only euphoria in the presence of his home, the place where he had once come from himself.
He had returned.
After some time Oncor laid down in a shallow, tree-lined stream that ran just off from the lake. He couldn't lift a fin, his head, or his tail. He would never be returning to the ocean. He knew this, yet he let death come to him, taking his last gulp of water, the sweet, soothing smell of home all around him, his life’s purpose fulfilled.
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