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 sjuende morgenen kom Polly tidlig ned til tanken. Laboratoriet var stille. Chiara ville ikke komme før om en time. Instituttet hadde våknet slik hver morgen i hundre og femtifire 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.

Dette var ikke normalt. I seks morgener hadde Polly sittet på kanten, og blekkspruten hadde vært sammenkrøllet i røret sitt, eller drevet i et hjørne. I dag var blekkspruten presset mot frontveggen, alle åtte armene spredt løst mot glasset, det ene synlige øyet på nivå med Pollys.

They looked at each other.

De så på hverandre.

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.

Det som skjer mellom en papegøye og en stor Stillehavsblekksprut er sannsynligvis ikke vennskap. Blekkspruten undersøkte kanskje bare den varmblodige skapningen som hadde vært rundt tanken hennes i seks dager. Blekkspruter kan lese varme gjennom huden sin. De kan lese bevegelser gjennom sugekoppene sine. De samlet informasjon.

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 hoppet langs kanten. Blekksprutens øye fulgte henne, så flyttet armene seg sakte for å følge etter. Da Polly stoppet, stoppet øyet.

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

I sju hele minutter så de på hverandre. Vannfilteret summet mykt.

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 blekkspruten noe Polly ikke hadde sett henne gjøre hele uken. Hun rullet ut en arm sakte og presset tuppen mot glasset akkurat der Pollys fot hvilte. Sugekoppene spredte seg, så ble 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 senket nebbet sitt til glasset og berørte det forsiktig med det lukkede nebbet. Gjennom det kalde glasset, på hennes side, var det ingenting. På blekksprutens side, kanskje en hel del.

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

Armen ble der i ett langt minutt. Så gled den tilbake i vannet.

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 inn med to kopper kaffe. "Du drar," sa hun. "Jeg forestilte meg at dette ville skje. Reis trygt. Kom tilbake 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 løftet seg fra kanten. Hun fløy ut gjennom den lange korridoren i instituttet, forbi sardinene og tangen, og ut i den lyse morgenen i Villa Comunale. Napolibukten åpnet seg foran henne.