12 Jun 2024
Dream
My sister and I were driving to go watch the orcas migrate through a nearby reservoir. We were excited to see them; I’ve wanted to see an orca in the wild ever since I can remember. We arrived to the reservoir and at first only saw people in the water. We were standing above, at the edge of a cliff looking down at the water. It looked like they were jet skiing, and systematically creating explosions. I was immediately concerned because it was the time of year that the orcas would be passing through. Didn’t these people know that? Eventually I saw the orcas coming. I was able to spot the occasional dorsal fin appear above the water. It then became apparent to me that the people on jet skis were using the explosions to corral the orcas into one area where they became trapped. Once they had them corralled, they began detonating more explosives in the midst of the orcas, killing them. I was horrified and wanted to know why this was happening. I noticed a group of protesters nearby and approached them to get more information. The protesters told me that the reasoning for this massacre was to protect the salmon population. I was very upset and continued to watch the sad scene unfolding in front of me, unable to do anything to stop it. A small percentage of the orca pod was able to escape and swim away and I was hopeful they would make it back to the ocean, but just then the portion of the reservoir they had made it to drained and the were left stranded on the shore. I looked around at all of the onlookers standing above the water where I was, and saw some people that looked as though they were communicating with the people in the water. I asked them why they were doing this, why the salmon were more important than the orcas, who were far more intelligent and capable of feeling emotions as deeply if not more than us humans. They told me that salmon hold a high market value, and the orcas didn’t. Since they didn’t generate any form of profit, they held no value and therefore must be eliminated. I tried to convince them that money isn’t the only thing of value, but they wouldn’t listen to me, and continued their carnage. I stood helpless, watching from above as the pod dwindled. Bloody chunks and portions of the whales rose to the surface, and I cried as a mother and her calf tried to escape. I couldn’t stand to watch their fate, and had to turn away.
