the birth of kokoony
-A TRASHY BEDTIME TALE-
The ocean is the planet’s breath.
As the tides roll in and out, the earth respires, creating and sharing the energy to fulfill its galactic duties. A long time ago, before the evolution of humankind when breathing was easy, the ocean thrived in joyous and fruitful creations. Species multiplied and over centuries evolved into noble enigmatic wisdom, feeding the planet with delicious and nutritious breaths. Over time humankind came to be and with it another set of creation. Objects. These mutated from wood to stone, to metal and plastic. The more humans created objects the more they wanted new ones, similar ones, convenient and of course better ones. It became an endless consumption, an insatiable hunger and demand, like a vampire craving ownership of soulless things. The more objects the more status and the more one desired…more. Little did anyone think about the long-term outcome of these lifeless solid shapes roaming the earth. Once unwanted and discarded, simply put it out of sight, after all if you don’t see it, how much harm can it cause?
Unfortunately, all roads eventually lead to the ocean and traveling on them, the undesired objects of “civilization” falling into the ocean’s breath. With every tide it engulfed more obsolete things, taking them from one side of the planet to the other, desperately trying to break all this material down so that once again it may thrive. But the layers were too deep, too thick and too toxic, so now the ocean breathes slower, receding and sometimes never coming back.
In the toxic murky coastline, a fermented change began to happen. Some called it magic, other just called it pollution. Whichever it was, it was strange and at night an electric breeze passed through the air and if you got close enough, without being completely repulsed by the smell of death and decay, you could see a mystic magenta glow somewhat fluttering over the beach like a mosquito frenzy only more colorful and eerie.
One particularly stuffy night where you could practically taste the withering skeletons on the beach, I felt the urge to descend and walk among this disgusting yet surreal coastline phenomenon. As I stumbled and shuffled while fighting the urge to gag, over and around the heaps of thingamabobs, doodahs, and the multitude of bird and fish carcasses, I felt my heart becoming slightly colder while listening to the soft and distant sound of the ocean, slowly breathing. So much sadness collected in a once so beautiful place.
I was about to head back and take the hottest most disinfecting shower of my life, when something in the distance caught my eye. It glowed brighter than anything else and as I got closer the electric magenta frenzy fog started to lift. Atop a pile of rubbish was a plastic soda bottle shining like the inside of a radioactive pomegranate. I picked it up and dusted the sand off to get a better look at the toxic experiment happening inside. Within seconds the bottle started to shake, it fell out of my hands and a gleaming syrupy light began to pour out like heavy smoke on ice. The smoke twirled and danced in the air, mesmerizing me in a snake charmer kind of way, as in awe, I watched a silhouette and then a creature appear before me. Startled I came back to reality and silently frightened I gazed at this beast as it stretched out, shimmering and smiling like the Cheshire cat. It was the most fabulous and freakish creature I had ever seen. A ridiculous rainbow amid all the colorless and washed-out decay on the beach.
The creature shook itself, radiating a blissful yet severe energy. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before and definitely not in biology books. A head of feline nature with glowing antennas and stylish paws on the body of a weird and furry caterpillar of sorts. It hovered over the plastic bottle like I would imagine a genie would do, and it came closer to me, scrutinizing my every detail, when suddenly it spoke in a deep voice, jolting me into falling backwards in a gooey pile of waste.
“Well, this is a quite a mess you have here” scanning the landscape. “Its not mine” I blurted out without thinking
“Ah, no?!” It intensely replied while getting up in my face with fire in its eyes “You mean you are an angel; nothing here has your fingerprint on it?”
“No, I guess it’s not true, I did partake in this destruction. It’s almost impossible not to participate” I shamefully sighed while looking around at the ground flipping trash with my foot and recognizing a brand of toothbrush I’ve used in the past.
“Mmmmmm….yesssssss” it said slowly while twirling whimsically around like a fish in the air. “My name… is Kokoony!” Its voice booming and echoing up and down the coastline. “I am made of a thousand ocean souls that choked and perished because of this craving for objects your world has.”
It paused and looked into the distance “I carry the sadness of the ocean and the hope of the stars. I am Kokoony the trash genie.” And it grinned real close to my face sending chills down my spine. “And guess what?! I will grant you! little human polluter” as it pointed its gigantic paw with long purple claws at me, “Three ecological wishes, even though you don’t deserve them but let’s seeeeeee!” and it spiraled around laughing like a creepy child. “But remember! Genie rules do apply! So be extra specific or the results could be extra catastrophic!” it continued to laugh in a diabolical way.
“Three ecological wishes” I thought, that’s amazing and also insane, where to begin and what would be the consequences? Getting rid of plastic was my first idea, but I would have to be very specific as our world has become so reliant on it. It is literally intertwined with every aspect of our lives, a pacemaker has plastic insulation, I could kill people with my wish! I continued to think. Sharing wealth to create sustainable solutions, getting rid of consumer addiction, creating a plastic eating bacteria for the ocean that works fast, giving animals superpowers to retaliate and while I'm at it making billionaires choke on their waste.
“Having difficulties little miss polluting thing? So many options!” it laughed “yet so many incidents could happen!”
“Ok. My first wish is to rid all ocean life of plastic in their system” I said decisively thinking it was an excellent wish.
“Alright, that’s a good one but not a permanent one! And where does all those microplastics go?! Ha! Didn’t think about that, did you, well at least the ocean will be happy for a little bit.”
“Oh no! wait!”
“Too late!” And it grew, as the magenta heavy smoke filled up with the electric ghosts of animals, magically revolving around it. Three stars opened on its caterpillar belly and fire blasted out, crackling as it laughed, and its paws danced like it was playing an imaginary instrument.
“Done!” It smiled and almost at the same time I heard breaks and screams coming from the road near the coastline.
“What did I do?!”
“Well there are a lot of creatures in the ocean and therefore a lot of pieces of plastic, all shapes and sizes, so I dumped them back on the land. You little polluters can now see the real destruction.”
I ran closer to the road and yes, I could see the destruction. Dunes of small plastics as far as could see, surrounding houses, covering cars. If anything it looked rather colorful, like an ocean of Legos. I ran back to Kokoony.
“But won’t it just go back to the sea?”
“I told you be EXTRA specific, I’m not going to make your life easier! But I will tell you this; things can change but not vanish.”
“Ok! Ok… Then my second wish is to turn all that micro plastic on land into…bees!” and I shut my eyes tightly and holding my breath wondering what I just did.
“Ha! That’s actually a good one! Your world does need to repopulate this key critter.”
I breathed out in relief.
“Although it will be a little hectic at first! But they should disperse and thrive with time.” And Kokoony did its magical dance, fire stars and all. Once finished, the sounds of people yelling what the hell is going on, quickly changed to more screams and slamming of doors as a deep humming became louder and almost deafening.
I looked at my hands and saw bees all over me. They were cute, fuzzy and friendly but there was a lot of them.
“I’m not doing a very good job with these wishes” I smirked, finding humor in this new dilemma and almost eating one of the bees crawling on my face.
“It could be worse” it laughed. “You still have one more wish! There is an easy… directional solution to all this” as it winked.
I smiled nodding hoping I understood correctly. “Here I go, for my third and final wish. I wish that all these new bees be dispersed around the planet in places where they will thrive and help the ecosystem.”
“There you go!” and Kokoony grew even bigger, reaching the clouds as its belly fires lashed out swiftly, until like a flash of lightning the whole sky illuminated and suddenly got dark as it returned to a more reasonable size.
“That’s it?” I sadly asked.
“Indeed, my little human polluter, that’s all you get. But you did some temporary good. The ocean and the mountains thank you. Maybe the next little human polluter to find me will do better! Because that’s the beauty of it all, I am Kokoony a free, trash genie! I travel from plastic to plastic, and with so many of it I have so many homes. So, pick them all up! You never know!” and Kokoony slithered back into the bottle and with a blink of an eye disappeared. Leaving the plastic bottle looking empty, grey and toxic amongst the heaps of trash still on the beach.