Gumbl
Day one it grew a tail, but they couldn’t say for sure that’s what it was. The cylindrical appendage sprouted and wagged. Day two it spun in circles, the tail brushed against the light floor pivoting the bright pink body around. Day three it woke with a foot out, split in the middle by two shades of green. The second foot sprouted that afternoon in what appeared to be an exhausting push from the body. Day four they thought something was wrong, the two feet and tail did not move at all.
Day five they poured a thimble of water into the light cube, rinsing the creature’s body. Two front legs extended from the body with a fwump. The four legs restlessly kicked against the floor, bending in the middle, searching for ground. Once standing on all fours the creature inched forward, scraping its toes against the light floor. Its legs buckled underneath the weight of its round body. It extended only its hind legs from the floor, pushed its front feet and blank top around the cube, like a push broom.
Day six it woke and sprang up on all fours. It galloped to a sprint and smashed against the side wall. A bump grew at the point of impact, and then three spikes. By midday its head was fully exposed, eyes closed. Its legs waddled beneath its body walking in circles along the edges of the cube. The creature opened its eyes. The bright white light below and above and all around it was a great contrast to living in the dark, yet there were no guides or clues to the surrounding area, everything was light,until it looked down and saw its legs moving. It spent the rest of the day lifting a leg and investigating the bottom of a foot. Then the next. Then a hind leg, and the other, marveling at its two shades of green and bright fuschia belly. It stayed sitting upright or laying on its back and kicking the air for two full days.
Day eight it was lifeless again. They poured four thimbles over the creature. It erupted from sleep and seemed to plant its legs into the cube itself as its body began to tremble. It made the noise of a bell tone and the light cube cracked and shattered all around it. Then it grew to the size of a small horse.
The world exploded in front of the creature. Walls. Cabinets. Men in white coats. It noticed a long light above them that it mistook for its parents. It screamed a serene series of melodies. Though it was distressed its noises were relaxing. It tried to jump for the fluorescent lights. It kicked and rang notes.
The creature looked down at its own legs and there beneath them was a dark pool. When it lifted a leg, the pool moved. It tried to step outside the pool. It could not step outside the pool. The pool followed the creature. It pounced across the room. The pool was always attached. It sprang out of the room down a long corridor lined with relatives of its cube hanging above. At the end of the hall a bright white light shined. The pool was racing beneath it. It pounced through the open door and was again bathed in familiar light on all sides.
The pool was gone. The floor was aglow. It lifted its legs one after the next and only saw light beneath them. When the creature finally looked up, standing beside it a thing with similar legs and a body with the same color as its own. The two creatures looked at one another and blinked. Then they made music out of laughter.