Goodbye to Pasta

On the seventh morning, Polly came to the tank early. The lab was quiet.

På den sjunde morgonen kom Polly tidigt till tanken. Labbet var tyst.

Pasta was at the front of the tank. This was new. For six days, the octopus had been folded in her pipe, or in a corner. Today she was pressed against the glass. All eight arms were spread. Her eye was level with Polly's.

Pasta var längst fram i tanken. Detta var nytt. I sex dagar hade bläckfisken hållit sig i sitt rör eller i ett hörn. Idag var hon pressad mot glaset. Alla åtta armar var utspridda. Hennes öga var i nivå med Pollys.

They looked at each other.

De tittade på varandra.

What passes between a parrot and an octopus is probably not friendship. Octopuses can sense warmth through their skin. They can sense movement through their suckers. The octopus was collecting information.

Vad som passerar mellan en papegoja och en bläckfisk är förmodligen inte vänskap. Bläckfiskar kan känna värme genom sin hud. De kan känna rörelser genom sina sugkoppar. Bläckfisken samlade information.

Polly hopped along the rim. The octopus's eye tracked her. When Polly stopped, the eye stopped.

Polly hoppade längs kanten. Bläckfiskens öga följde henne. När Polly stannade, stannade ögat.

For seven minutes they watched each other.

I sju minuter tittade de på varandra.

Then the octopus did something new. She slowly unfurled one arm. She pressed the tip of it against the inside of the glass, exactly opposite Polly's foot. The suckers spread, then stilled.

Sedan gjorde bläckfisken något nytt. Hon vecklade långsamt ut en arm. Hon tryckte spetsen av den mot insidan av glaset, precis mittemot Pollys fot. Sugkopparna spred sig, sedan blev de stilla.

Polly touched the outside of the glass with her beak.

Polly rörde vid utsidan av glaset med sin näbb.

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

Armen stannade kvar i en lång minut. Sedan gled den tillbaka in i vattnet.

Chiara came in with two coffees. "You are leaving," she said. "Travel safely."

Chiara kom in med två koppar kaffe. "Du ska åka," sa hon. "Res säkert."

Polly flew out of the institute. The Bay of Naples opened in front of her. She climbed and found the wind.

Polly flög ut från institutet. Neapelbukten öppnade sig framför henne. Hon steg och fann vinden.