Short Story: Plankton’s Epic Alliance

When a Vacation to Karimunjawa Turns into a Plankton Rescue Mission

Indonesian version

When I was in 4th grade, every recess, like clockwork, Bayu, Ayu, and I would park in the garden right in front of the library. Not to read, mind you — to chat and swap stories about our year-end breaks. Bayu was about his family trip to Singapore, showing off his selfie with the Merlion.

“Check this out. Isn’t the statue rad?” Bayu said, all smug.

“Ew, why’s the statue puking? Did it catch a cold or something?” Ayu blurted out.

“No way…” I began.

“Seasick from all that water, probably. Oh hey, I got you guys something!” Bayu handed each of us a bottle of water. Ayu and I exchanged puzzled looks.

“A souvenir from Singapore,” he announced. Ayu and I were stunned.

“Whoa, what’s this, Bay?” Ayu asked.

“Merlion puke. It’s pricey, y’know!”

“Bayu… Bayu…” I shook my head. “You’re the coolest friend ever.”

Then Ayu started raving about her Bali trip, especially watching the sunset at Pandawa Beach. No photos or beach sand souvenirs from her, but I believed her. Her skin had a more exotic glow.

“So, where’d you go?” Bayu asked me.

“I just went to Grandpa’s place…”

“Just Grandpa? What about your grandma?” Ayu cut in.

“She passed a….”

“Passed from what?” Ayu asked again.

“From life.”

“It’s means she’s dead, ayu…” Bayu jumped in, exasperated. “Can you pipe down? Eja’s got a story, sorry for your loss,” he added. Ayu nodded.

My Grandpa lives near Karimunjawa National Park. I spent a lot of time with the marine life there. One day, the weather was perfect. Early in the morning, after breakfast, Grandpa was all, “Hurry up!” He patted my shoulder. “I don’t wanna miss the baby turtle release,” he said.

I scarfed down my breakfast and bolted out the door without drinking anything. It took about 30 minutes to walk to the beach and another 10 minutes by boat to Legon Jaten Island, where they had the turtle sanctuary and the baby turtle release.

“Grandpa, I’m thirsty. My throat’s parched. Didn’t get to drink earlier,” I rasped. “There’s a stall over there. We’ll grab a drink later,” he said.

I downed half a bottle of water in no time and saved the rest for the trip. We passed a pretty big river. It was so beautiful that we stopped for a breather.

“Nice, huh, Ja? Remember, every river eventually flows into the ocean,” he said. “Oh, really, Grandpa.” I cracked open the bottle and gulped down the rest while soaking in the view.

“Whoa, what are you doing?” Grandpa stopped me.

“Throwing away the trash, Grandpa,” I replied.

“Not in the river. That’s a waste!”

“Why? It’s just one bottle,” I argued.

“What if 1,000 people see you toss trash, and they do the same?”

“But there’s no one here but us, Grandpa.”

Grandpa sighed.

“You know Plankton?”

“Yeah, Plankton is the villain making cool gadgets to steal Krabby Patties. I like him. He’s cool, but his gadgets are trash. None of them work. I wish I could help him,” I said. “…and this plastic bottle can kill plankton.”

“But plankton are in the sea, I’m throwing it in the river.”

“Remember what Grandpa just said?”

“Plastic kills plankton?”

“The one before that.”

“Every river…” I thought for a moment. Grandpa nodded. “…flows into the ocean,” I said.

Grandpa told me about plankton’s cousin, phytoplankton. “This plankton can’t make cool gadgets to steal Krabby Patties,” he said. “…but it can photosynthesize, turning carbon dioxide into oxygen.”

“I can photosynthesize food, too.”

“What do you mean?” Grandpa asked.

“A week ago, I turned solid food into liquid. Through my butt,” I said.

“That’s just diarrhea,” he said, patting my head. We continued our walk. Grandpa kept talking about how phytoplankton produce more oxygen than forests. Without them, Earth would be whole of carbon dioxide and way hotter. “You can help plankton by keeping the environment clean and not tossing trash in the river,” he said.

“Hey, wait…” I said.

“What’s up, Ja?” Bayu asked.

“I need to photosynthesize food.” I dashed to find the nearest toilet.

“Huh?!” Bayu and Ayu clamped their noses shut.

— The End —