Finnegan was a silver fish who lived in the Sparkling Shallows. While the other fish spent their days hunting for brine shrimp among the coral, he spent his time staring at the ceiling of the world. To him, the surface was a shimmering mystery that tasted of sunlight.
One morning, a slow, heavy shadow drifted over the sand. It was Barnaby, an ancient sea turtle with a shell that looked like a mossy mountain. He had traveled to the ends of the currents and seen many strange things in his long life.
What is up there, Barnaby?" Finnegan asked, his bubbles rising fast. The old turtle slowed his pace and blinked a sleepy eye. "The Great Blue," Barnaby rumbled. "It is an ocean made of air, where white mountains float and silver giants soar on the wind.
Finnegan decided he had to see the white mountains for himself. He swam down to the very bottom of the reef, wiggled his tail, and raced toward the light. He broke the surface with a loud pop, but he fell back instantly with a heavy splash.
"Persistence is the key," Barnaby whispered as he watched the little fish try again and again. Finnegan spent the entire afternoon practicing near a large, gnarled piece of floating driftwood, using it as a marker to measure his jumps.
Suddenly, the sky turned a deep, moody grey and the water grew restless. A storm was brewing. The waves began to roll like hills, pushing and pulling at every living thing in the shallows, turning the clear water into a chaos of foam.
Finnegan did not hide in the coral. He saw a massive wave rising higher than all the others, a wall of water reaching for the clouds. He swam into its heart, feeling the power of the ocean lifting him up, up, and away from the reef.
With a final, mighty flick of his tail, Finnegan soared. For one breathless heartbeat, he was part of the sky. He saw the "white mountains" of the clouds and the endless golden horizon where the air met the sea. It was more beautiful than any dream.
He fell back into the cool embrace of the sea, dizzy and breathless. Barnaby was waiting there to catch him on his broad, sturdy back, guiding him gently down away from the crashing waves to the quiet, sandy floor.
Now, when the young fish gather in the Shallows, Finnegan doesn't just stare at the surface anymore. He tells a young fish named Zale all about the Upside-Down Ocean and the magic that waits for anyone brave enough to take the leap.
