Goodbye to Pasta

On the seventh morning, Polly came down to the tank early. The lab was quiet. Chiara would not be in for another hour. The institute had been waking up like this every morning for one hundred and fifty-four years.

På den syvende morgen kom Polly tidligt ned til tanken. Laboratoriet var stille. Chiara ville ikke være der før om en time. Instituttet havde vågnet op sådan hver morgen i hundrede og fireoghalvtreds år.

Pasta was at the front of the tank.

Pasta var foran i tanken.

This was not normal. For six mornings, Polly had perched on the rim and the octopus had been folded in her pipe, or drifting in a corner. Today the octopus was pressed against the front wall, all eight arms spread loosely against the glass, her single visible eye level with Polly's.

Det var ikke normalt. I seks morgener havde Polly siddet på kanten, og blæksprutten havde været foldet i sit rør eller svævende i et hjørne. I dag var blæksprutten trykket mod forvæggen, alle otte arme spredt løst mod glasset, hendes eneste synlige øje i niveau med Pollys.

They looked at each other.

De kiggede på hinanden.

What passes between a parrot and a giant Pacific octopus is probably not friendship. The octopus might simply have been investigating the warm-blooded creature that had been around her tank for six days. Octopuses can read warmth through their skin. They can read movement through their suckers. They were collecting information.

Hvad der passerer mellem en papegøje og en kæmpe Stillehavsblæksprutte er nok ikke venskab. Blæksprutten kunne simpelthen have undersøgt den varmblodede skabning, der havde været omkring hendes tank i seks dage. Blæksprutter kan læse varme gennem deres hud. De kan læse bevægelse gennem deres sugekopper. De indsamlede information.

Polly hopped along the rim. The octopus's eye tracked her, then her arms shifted slowly to follow. When Polly stopped, the eye stopped.

Polly hoppede langs kanten. Blækspruttens øje fulgte hende, så skiftede hendes arme langsomt for at følge med. Da Polly stoppede, stoppede øjet.

For seven full minutes they watched each other. The water filter hummed softly.

I syv hele minutter betragtede de hinanden. Vandfilteret summede blidt.

Then the octopus did something Polly had not seen her do all week. She unfurled one arm slowly and pressed the very tip of it against the glass exactly opposite where Polly's foot was resting. The suckers spread, then stilled.

Så gjorde blæksprutten noget, Polly ikke havde set hende gøre hele ugen. Hun rullede langsomt en arm ud og pressede spidsen mod glasset præcis der, hvor Pollys fod hvilede. Sugekopperne spredte sig, og så blev de stille.

Polly lowered her beak to the glass and touched it gently with her closed beak. Through the cold glass, on her side, there was nothing. On the octopus's side, perhaps a great deal.

Polly sænkede sit næb til glasset og rørte det forsigtigt med sit lukkede næb. Gennem det kolde glas, på hendes side, var der intet. På blækspruttens side, måske en hel del.

The arm stayed for one long minute. Then it slid back into the water.

Armen blev der i et langt minut. Så gled den tilbage i vandet.

Chiara came in with two coffees. "You are leaving," she said. "I imagined this would happen. Travel safely. Come back when you can."

Chiara kom ind med to kopper kaffe. "Du rejser," sagde hun. "Jeg forestillede mig, at det ville ske. Rejs sikkert. Kom tilbage, når du kan."

Polly lifted off the rim. She flew out down the long corridor of the institute, past the sardines and the kelp, and out into the bright morning of the Villa Comunale. The Bay of Naples opened in front of her.

Polly løftede sig fra kanten. Hun fløj ud gennem den lange korridor i instituttet, forbi sardinerne og tangskoven, og ud i den lyse morgen i Villa Comunale. Napolibugten åbnede sig foran hende.