ORIGINS: The left eyebrow of the first character in the original series reminded us of a young wild boar. And even though the tail and the fins are not there, one of us said that with a longer snout it would also resemble a dolphin. But that is what bottles are for, isn’t it?
Young wild boar: I have something to say, but apparently my nose isn’t the right shape. If I asked politely, would you lend me a bottle?
Dolphin: Sorry, but you seem to have mistaken me for some other dolphin.
Young wild boar: Does that mean that you won’t help me? I thought that helping was what dolphins did. I promise you that it isn’t a long message. Just two or three words. Won’t you at least let me write them in your heart? I just want to be heard, once, before these stripes finish what they have started. Please, I don’t want to get lost in the world. Not without ever having been heard.
Dolphin: I am sorry, but I can’t. My heart is already full to the brim, with words that do nothing to change the flavor of the sea. You would be better off drying your tears before they become your whole world.
Young wild boar: The bottle I threw broke before anyone could read my message, but I won’t let that dishearten me. I still have time. There are still stripes in my fur. Don’t they look like shooting stars to you? They remind me that I am still young enough to keep wishing for a different outcome. But enough about me. What happened to your words? Did they ever reach someone else’s heart? If you have run out of bottles, I could always lend you a shooting star.
Dolphin: Thank you, but I wouldn’t want you to waste them on me. I am already broken, and I can’t put the blame on anyone else. I spoke from my heart, and I didn’t let the waves carry my words out of sight. I didn’t think to put distance between my heart and the answer I needed to hear. And that is why that rejection didn’t only break me. It depleted my words. And I haven’t been able to find anything meaningful to say ever since that day.
Young wild boar: Do you remember what you promised me? You said that I could count on you. As long as waves kept breaking in the sea and leaves kept falling to the ground. You said that I could ask for help anytime, anywhere, and you wouldn’t let me down.
Dolphin: I did. I wanted to change the definition of life for you. I didn’t want you to grow up trapped in the color grey like I did. I wanted you to see only good things in the world and be a happy child. And you were. For the longest time you were. And I won’t feel guilty for managing to give you a crumb of what I never had.
Young wild boar: But you knew that it wouldn’t last. That your words wouldn’t stick and life would strip me of my happiness, of my stripes, sooner or later. And I just wish you had never promised me anything. Because now I feel broken and helpless. Like I don’t belong anywhere. Because the world you made me believe in, the one you painted on my fur, it doesn’t exist, and the only word I can find to describe what is in front of me is disappointment.
Young wild boar: Doesn’t my fur look like a stormy sea? I know that I am not grey like you, but at least I am not blue like the sky. I have white stripes that could pass for waves, and if you squint, that other auburn color could be the one promises are made of. You know, the one that appears when the sea promises to drown the sun. Storms do that too, don’t they? I just want to be like you. Please. Please. Please. Let me destroy the world with you? Or do you prefer to call it change? Please. I can learn to love that word too. Please, let me change the world with you.
Dolphin: I always saw myself riding into the sunset alone, but I suppose that having company could be nice too. That way I won’t feel obliged to leave something behind. Why did it never occur to me? The world is yours too, and if you help me, we won’t have to let the storm die down. We can destroy everything! And I can’t wait to start.