He was an old man alone in his boat. Adrift in the expansive sea, endless blue surrounding him. There was color below. A scarlet koi. Fins glistening golden in the sun, shimmering under waves. It swam, fiercely against the current. A rebel in the deep. He admired it. Its audacity. Its passion. Depth in its mystery. A Thalassophenic soul mirrored in his own. He watched, fascinated. Learning from its wisdom. Its struggle was the old man’s struggle. Man against nature. Man against himself. Scarlet and gold, a beacon in the vast sea. Ever forward, never relenting. The old man and the scarlet koi, both relentless. Lone fighters in the wide, blue sea.