[ IP ] The Nightlife

It was staring at me. It was always staring at me, with those too-large black eyes, the head turning slightly to follow me as I walked past it. Chains clinked as it shifted position, flared its fins as far as the power lines would allow it, and then settled back into position. 
 
 I refused to meet its gaze, as always, and hurried home. It was a necessary part of life in the city, I knew. The electrifish produced enough electricity just by living to power an entire city, and it was certainly a cleaner option than the antiquated sources of coal and oil that our ancestors used. 
 
 And yet, I could n't get those eyes out of my head. Black depths like the ocean watching me, always watching me. Not emotionless, not quite, but filled with such alien emotion that my brain could not comprehend it. Oh, the scientists claimed that they had done tests, and that electrifish were n't even as intelligent as dogs, but those eyes told a different story. 
 
 The next day, I went out onto a balcony to take a smoke, and saw it again. Staring at me, always staring at me. `` Why me?'' I asked those giant eyes, the cigarette drooping forgotten in my fingers. 
 
 It did n't reply, or give any sign it had heard. Of course not. I had barely whispered, and although my apartment was near the electrifish, it was n't *that* near. 
 
 I shook my head, fumbled out my lighter. It took my three tries to light my cigarette, and I my shaking hands nearly dropped the lighter trying to put it back into my pocket. I raised the cigarette to my lips, felt the healing smoke enter my lungs, and looked back down at the electrifish. 
 
 It was beautiful, in an odd way, its skin a mottled yellow-brown like sand. Even as I watched, sparks skittered between its skin as it shifted position, and were absorbed by the power lines. For a moment, I thought I understood the emotion in those fathomless eyes. 
 
 Love.
