How to become a Sea Monster

Are you familiar with enigma? An enigma is something you haven’t yet figured out. Call it a mystery. You probably have a few of those lying around. Maybe it’s your wife or your job or your life. It could be anything. Humans are full of them. We’re always going around trying to solve things. Big puzzles. Unknowns. It’s all something to figure out. Hell, we even take time to solve those colorful-looking Rubix cubes that were popular in the 80s. I thought it was a lot easier than life sometimes. Anyways, picture me in a lab coat looking at test tubes all day. I’m a viral biologist. My whole life is dedicated to the mystery surrounding human illness. The common cold, to be exact. You know what the symptoms are. There’s your runny nose, your cough, your sore throat. The cold is something you get at the worst times. Yeah, and it always has its way with you. But as I grew in my field, what really intrigued me was the power of the virus.

The cold is one of the most successful viruses on earth. How could such a tiny thing affect billions each year? I wondered how something so common could be so powerful. So, I was trying to figure it out. I was trying to find a way to defeat the tiniest beast on earth. Normally, I would get up early in the morning, put some clothes on, and head to the lab. I had my own space and would typically just follow procedure until I got to the end of my shift. That was it. My salary was typical. My hobbies were typical. My life was typical. I never figured I would solve anything, to be honest with you. I thought I would go on living as though I was a common man. It was the truth as I knew it. Yes, but sure enough, one day, I had a bit of a meltdown. Nothing too crazy. I just decided that I didn’t want to go to work that day. I decided that I had enough. So, I called in. “Hey, boss, look, I’m not feeling too well.” That was about it. Nothing too special. Nothing too elaborate. Yes, and believe it or not, I had gotten the day off too. Yes, and I sat down that entire day and did nothing but watch T.V. I know, the neve of it. Who skips work all day to sit around and watch TV? I should have at least gone somewhere. But, instead, I flipped through channels all day. I stopped when I found something that triggered a childhood memory. A television program about Greek mythology was on. They discussed all the classics, from Medusa to the three-headed dog to the sphinx.

I remembered when I was a little boy that I was obsessed with mythology. I remembered how I wanted to become a sea monster. I thought I could change into something powerful and wild. I thought I could grow to become something much greater than I was. I sat on the beach one day with my brother Sam, and he laughed at me. “You can’t just be a dragon, Toby; you have to grow up and get a real job.” Thinking back on it, I thought it was ironic that my brother told me not to follow my dreams when he wanted to become a professional basketball player. Funny how that works, but that’s how it goes. People are funny. Anyway, I had forgotten all about my childhood passion. Like most adults, as I grew older, I had tossed it aside. I was an adult, right? So, I ended up studying cell biology in college instead. Cells change, I thought. People change. Yes, and in an instant of re-birth, it dawned on me that I could return to the way I was while still retaining my adult career. For weeks, I would spend all my free time studying myths and legends. It gave me tremendous power. I had something to look forward to. My imagination grew to indescribable lengths. I was smarter. It was that simple. So, combine all that new with all that old, and you get unthinkable. You get an awesome. You get a sea monster. Add that to my human struggle, and I created something brilliant because, believe it or not, I solved the puzzle. I cured the common cold, of all things. Oh, and hey, that’s how it always goes, right? People laugh at you until you do it. I’m a legend now. I was a sea monster, after all.