Nymph lived on the Pond floor. She was a tiny bug, the color of sand, with two compound eyes, six scrawny legs, a killer jaw and a huge problem. The premonition had returned. Again! Why? Nymph thought in agony.

“Change, bears gifts of growth.” the Water Lilies sang ethereally. Pond dwellers called them the Wise Ones. But Nymph knew not to trust those with false names. All she saw were long stalks, and round leaves with a single notch floating above. They had no clue about what she went through. And she resented their unwarranted advice.

She was grateful for the Light, as she scanned the murky pond that warm afternoon. She sighed in relief when she saw no fish or other nymphs in sight. A clump of lush Water Weed grew in this part. Their leaves provided ideal spots when she was a baby. Now she needed more.

Keeping both eyes out for nemeses, she crept over sand and pebbles, searching for a hideout. Nymph was a famous hunter, but even she could not defend herself when the Change took over.

She tried to crawl beneath the stone under which she had transformed two times before. The humps on her upper back scrapped against its surface. She backed out in frustration.

As body fluid rose up her abdomen, so did panic. She knew if didn’t find refuge soon, she would change into a ready-to-eat meal. “To Triumph, Stumble and Persevere.” the Lilly chorus warbled from far away.

Nymph ignored them and trudged past the clearing with a large heap of Water Weed colored cylinders. She had to be careful here as sudden changes in current could hurl them helter-skelter.

To her left Nymph spotted a thicket of Cattail. Would it work? She wondered as she crawled towards its dense center. As soon as Nymph clasped a weed in a death grip, her nightmare began.

Torture! Why? Nymph thought in misery. Just below the back of her head, her skeleton began to rip apart. Pull in, slowly release; pull in, slowly release she chanted with each breath. A trick she had learnt during her seventh change. When a conversion was forced on her, she found concentrating on the water entering her body and the oxygen supply it delivered to her gills, comforted her.

Her cells had multiplied so furiously she could now feel the bottom of the pond. As the essence of life left her previous encasing, she willed her legs to climb out of it. Translucent and ghostlike, Nymph waited for the new shell to harden.

When the Light returned her new exoskeleton was tough enough for her to safely search for food. At the edge of the Cattail, Nymph saw a brood of tadpole swimming towards her. How Lucky! She exclaimed in glee. Excited, she expelled water from her backend without thinking and propelled forward towards her prey.

With a new speed, she dashed out of the weeds, way past the tadpoles, and into the boulder she had molted under the sixth time. Damn! Forgot! She thought. After the whirling sensation in her head had dissipated, she turned around. The tadpoles and every other meal option had vanished. Every time! Nymph moaned to herself. She wondered why it was that just when she had mastered the movements, the Change would strike again.

“Only after trial, wisdom and strength.” the Water Lilies crooned in the distance. Phony Busybodies! She thought and scuttled across the pond bed in search of new prey. By the heap of cylinders, she saw a crab gobbling a worm. 

Now more cautious, Nymph inched carefully towards it, and successfully devoured both crab and its half-eaten meal. Tasty! Joy! She exclaimed to herself happily and crawled into a cylinder to rest.

The Light grew dim, but didn’t leave. It was one of those nights when Light stayed dim, before getting bright again.

Suddenly the cylinder began to rock. Desperate to be rid of this unsuitable den, she hastily shuffled along the can’s shifting surface. At the triangular opening, against her better judgment, she darted out. As fate would have it, newly hardened nymph skeleton collided with not so soft scales of an adult Fathead Minnow. 

The enraged fish turned to face his aggressor, eyes widening first with pleasure, then with shock. In disbelief, the Minnow watched as the ripple his U-turn had created, thrust his favorite snack away from his side and into a cylinder. The furious fish nudged the can repeatedly, only to send it rolling feverishly across the pond. Immensely disappointed, he swam away to try his luck elsewhere.

When the cylinder finally halted, Nymph didn’t move. Pull in, slowly release; pull in, slowly release she soothed herself. Even though the can stayed still, it was still dim outside, so she waited.

When Light returned bright, she crawled to the wedge-shaped exit. And only after confirming it was safe, she crept to the cluster of stalks that suited her need. “Through darkness, into light.” softly sang the Water Lilies. She was too weary to be bothered as she scurried towards them. 

In their midst, Nymph was relieved to find a group of smaller nymphs. She was now thrice their size and smirked at their silly attempts to attack her. Growth Perks! She thought & grinned. 
 
After a satisfying meal, Nymph practiced her propulsion controls. Start, stop, up, down, straight ahead, fast, slow and repeat. She thought before each exercise. Though relearning them seemed pointless, Nymph practiced with diligence, as her need to not be eaten, was as great as her need to feed. 

Light came and went. The water turned cold, then warm again.

“Become how you overcome.” the Lilly choir was heard from afar. Among some Horsetail, a few snails had gathered and Nymph was preparing to attack, when the premonition began. This time her breathing began to falter. What the Fish?! She thought in alarm.

Instinct drove Nymph to inch her way up a reed and soon she rose above the water’s surface. Stunned and disoriented, she found that although she could breathe easier up here, her relief was short lived. 

The landscape before her was massive and it appeared totally alien. Then she remembered how she got there. Looking at the Horsetail reed’s familiar markings, Nymph sighed with relief that at least one thing was familiar and safe.

With no time for reconnaissance she moved from reed to reed until she came to a place where the Horsetail grew so close together she could barely see the Light. She clung to a reed for dear life and her thorax began to tear.

Despite the many times Nymph had endured the Change, nothing prepared her for this one. Cells seemed to grow incessantly. Pull in, slowly release; pull in, slowly release she repeated. As the Light went away she felt something lift off her body. They unfurled, spreading out, off her back. Whenever she thought she had imagined them, she felt their light tug.

When the Light came back, she basked in it, experiencing new warmth as she dried her freshly molted body.

Without warning, the flimsy new additions began to tremble. Soon they began to flap chaotically in unison and she was flung off the reed. Help! She yelped. Fluttering furiously, she darted one way, then another. Her compound eyes captured blurred, spinning images of her new surroundings.

Gradually she gained control over the appendages and settled on a weed. After a rest, she tried again. Start, stop, up, down, straight ahead, fast, slow and repeat. She thought as she went through a familiar routine. Hover? Hover! She thought, delighted with her new ability.

A swarm of mosquitos flew straight into the basket her curled legs made when folded for flight. No way! She thought. Wild with joy, she relished her first meal as a Dragonfly. Nearby, the water lilies sang “Marvel, with Hope and Courage”

The Light went away and returned a few times.

Hovering close to the surface of the water her eyes caught a glimpse of a slender form with shiny iridescent nets sticking out. Me? She pondered, and changed course.

She could now fly with ease, even glide on a gentle breeze. The smoothness of her flight was incredible. She realized that all her practice under the water now made her as quick as lighting in the air.

After another easy meal she perched on a branch and surveyed her new home.

Everything seemed so beautiful this side of the water. Then she saw a huge lump of slime crawl onto the water’s edge, stick out an appendage and swallow a whole crawling being before returning to the water. Rivals she thought, and flew towards the center of the pond to distance her from it.

Settling down on a familiar looking leaf with a single notch, she gazed in awe at the multilayered cup that grew on it. Water Lilly! She exclaimed in understanding. She heard their melodic voices much louder now. “The Journey is the Purpose.” the floral chorus sang.

The End.