Caustic light patterns danced across the edge of the stream bed, varying only with the occasional shadow from a passing cloud or a tree limb blowing in the breeze. But the small creature did not notice them.
Since hatching from an egg, it's sole motivation was to eat. And eat it did. Self preservation was secondary to it's main purpose in life. It needed to eat. It needed to reproduce. Ascribing a thought process to it was useless. It didn't think, it acted, and reacted. And now it sensed it's last body change would bring a new phase in it's life.
Life had been simple so far. Building a net on the stream bottom, checking it everyday by holding onto a lifeline so it would not be swept away with the current, and eating the trapped bits of algae and other organic detris that it found was it's life. Occasionally a small life form became trapped, and it too was consumed. It didn't know or care that the dam far upstream had provided this food with it's warmer upper water layer and daily discharges. The food was there and it ate it. What else was there to know? It's wormlike body was built for eating. It was rather plain except for the dark places on the top of the first three segments of it's body. Camouflage just happens, it was not a conscious thought.
This wasn't it's first net. It's urge to hunt new territory was unrelenting. It had released it's hold on the bottom yesterday and just before dawn had drifted along with it's brethren to a new place down stream. Drifting with it's head down, it knew when to stop and commence building it's new net. It was a hunter, pure and simple.
Now, however, something was different. An urge to build a case came over it. It must be done. Soon the streambed had yielded up the raw materials for a case that it built around itself. It wasn't a nice looking case , not a work of art, but just something to live inside for a short period of time. It was as natural as eating. As the last grain of sand was cemented in place it settled down to wait for something it knew not what. It didn't matter. It was supposed to happen. It's former life as a hunter and gatherer of food was just a dim memory, if you could say it even had a memory. It didn't need to eat now. It had another mission.
As time went by, changes were happening in the small case on the streambed bottom. The wormlike creature now didn't look like it's former self. A new urge had come over it that said "escape". As the changed creature struggled within the case, others near it were going through the same violent motions. Soon, the case started to open, and the new version of the hunter emerged. It had trailing legs and wings.
The survivor instinct was strong as it lifted it's self toward the surface. Using it's middle legs in a breast stroke, it struggled to reach the surface. It's last bit of energy carried it to the underside of the surface film. There it floated, waiting to either die or complete it's mission. It needed to rest. It drifted with the current.
Gathering a hidden reserve of energy, it started to struggle again. This time, however, it was changing as it struggled. The part of it's back that had protruded through the surface film was splitting, and a new creature was coming out of it's back. The struggles continued. Others like it were emerging to an airy world that, once their wings dried, they flew to nearby shrubs.
As the creature had been swimming to the surface, it had not seen the shadow on the streambed floor move. Out of the shadow came another hunter. And it was very hungry. Long and lean and with a pink line down it's side, it approached the struggling creature under the surface film. As it arrived just under the creature, it opened it mouth, flared it's gills and allowed the creature and some of the air above the surface film to be sucked into it's mouth. Trapping the creature between it's tongue and the roof of it's mouth, it instantly decided that this was food and swallowed the creature whole. A wink of light color from the inside of it's mouth and a bulge of water on the surface film were the only indications visible from the air that a life had ended and a new hunter had entered the picture and had been fed. Life was good.
As the new hunter swam to it's former position on the stream floor, it noticed another similar creature swimming to the surface. Another meal was too good to pass up. Arching his body to the side, he attacked the new creature the same way as before.
As he tasted this meal, something different happened. The meal became stuck in his mouth and it began to pull towards the surface pulling the hunter with it. Instinct kicked in as the newcomer began to struggle to reach the safety of the shadows on the stream floor. He couldn't remember if this had ever happened to him before, but he knew something was wrong. He was the hunter. This was not supposed to happen. He was losing the fight and was approaching the surface.
"Dad, Dad" the young boy cried. "I got one. The caddis fly worked."
"Keep the line tight and move him into the shallows", his dad replied. Pride was welling in his heart. This was perfect. "Easy, don't horse him" he added.
The small rainbow trout lay in the shallows, half in and half out of the water, flaring his gill flap to summon the life giving oxygen from the water. The boy stood looking at him. "Dad, what do we do now?", he asked. "It's your choice" his dad replied. "You hunted him, you found him, and you caught him. You can either keep him or let him go", his dad added. The father studied the young man's face. They had talked before about what to do if they caught fish on this trip.
"Well, we hunted him and got him just like you said. He was in the seam just like you said.", the boy said after a short period of thought. "I guess he was hunting too."
"But now you have to decide how the hunt ends" his father said. "We shouldn't waste something so beautiful if we can help it", the father added. "Do we need him for supper?" his father asked. "No, we already have enough fish that mom said we needed", the boy answered. "And it is kind of small." the boy said. "Then you decide", the man repeated.
Carefully the boy removed the hook from the small trout and eased it back into the water. Once the trout was revived, it quickly sped away, back to the safety of it's stream bottom. "Dad, can I catch it again?" the boy asked. "You can now" his father answered, with a radiant smile on his face.
"Come on, lets get back home. We still have a fish dinner to look forward to tonight" the father declared. Anyone watching them would have noticed that the boy was walking a little taller back to the truck. And so was his father.
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