2 preteens - a girl and a boy - are sitting on a rocky outcropping, close to a waterfall, fishing
Girl:
(staring at the far end of the river)
How do they know when to stop?
Boy:
Huh? Who?
Girl:
The fishes. How do they know when to stop.
Boy:
Oh. I don't know... their mums tell them?
Girl:
No, I'm serious. We can stand up, we can see that beyond the dam it starts going really fast and then it's a loooooong dive.
(pause)
So if one of them tried going that way, there's no way they can swim fast enough to make it back and tell the others about it.
Boy:
Yeah.
(thinks)
Maybe one of them tried, and when he didn't make it back, the others figured out it wasn't a good idea...
Girl:
Hm. Fish are so smart.
She takes her rod out of the water, seeming more interested by her thoughts than fishing
Girl:
People say Trimont used to be a mountain.
(pauses, staring in the water)
So maybe the fish have always had to stop here.
(thinks, then looks at the river again.)
For them, nothing's changed. Their world is exactly the same.
Boy:
Hm. That's sad.
Girl:
I think it's kind of nice.
Boy:
But the sky is huge! There's plenty of other islands with different fish, that they'll never meet! There's so much more than this river.
Girl:
I like this river. It's a good river.
Boy:
And maybe better rivers and… Oh! Oh! I got one!
The boy yanks the fishing rod and pulls out a small fish and cheers.
Girl:
I think it would have preferred to stay in the river.
*The boy stops cheering and looks up, then at the fish in his hands. After a moment, he releases it back into the water.
They pack up and start leaving.
Girl:
Now it knows about the sky.
Boy:
Fish are so smart.