I…gaped, for lack of a better word. My mouth opened and closed as I processed what mother fish was saying, looking very much like a fish myself.  I tried to make words work, but for the first time since I’d learned to speak, the words didn’t come.  The egg was mine.  It took a few moments for it to sink in.  I didn’t even know what it was.  Mother fish had mentioned a whale, but I didn’t know what that was either.  A mixture of excitement with a subtle undertone of panic rushed through me.  I did my best to swallow all the insecurities and focus on the excitement of the whole matter.  My very own whale egg!
 
I quickly stood, still in a daze, and teetered my way towards the egg.  It sat in a cradle of smooth stones it at was only when you got close that you could see that the smooth surface of the egg was almost silvery. Reached out my nose ever so carefully, almost afraid to touch it.  I was surprised to find that the surface of the egg was somewhat warm, when I had been expecting it to be cool like the stones and the water.  I pulled my nose away and smiled down at the egg, even though that was silly because it clearly couldn’t see me.  But it felt right all the same.
 
I began to wonder just how I was going to get the egg back home.  I couldn’t exactly carry it all the way back to the mountains. And I doubt the egg would appreciate being rolled all the way to the north.  I looked up at the crowd, realizing that many had quickly dispersed following the mother fish’s decision.  I had to figure out something quickly.  I frowned as I considered the possibility of mother worrying since I’d been gone a long time.  And as if to reinforce that fact, my stomach grumbled uncomfortably.  That hazelnut may have made me smart, but it certainly didn’t do much to sate my hunger.  Again, this inspired another divergent train of thought and I pondered what the baby whale in the egg might eat.  Or what it might look like. 
 
I began to pace as I considered my next move, but I never moved more than a few steps from the egg.  I was both unwilling and seemingly unable to do so.  Letting out a soft huff, I again looked around to see if anyone had remained but before I could even process the faces, my attention returned to the egg because of a strange sensation in my head. I don’t even have the words to explain it, but it was almost the way I feel when I think of mother or of Virga…but different somehow.  Again I reached out, touching the smooth surface with my nose, and almost as if it felt my touch the egg gently rocks under my nose.  It’s startling, but exciting all the same.  The egg is definitely alive.  When I raise my head again there’s a small, rapidly growing crack in the surface of the shell.  It takes all my effort to keep my feet in one place since I’m so excited, but the anxiety is there too.  However that strange feeling at my head keeps me grounded, it fights the fear of the unknown, and affords me the patience necessary to see the little creature break its partially from the smooth, silvery shell.  Hatching seems like hard work, but at the end of it all I’m surprised to find that the mysterious whale is actually a bird!  The bird has only managed to free its head and has only just started working on freeing its wings, but it’s definitely a bird.  I know that much.
 
“Hello, little whale!” I murmur to the silver-eyed bird that peers back to me, as pure happiness blooms in my heart and mind.