“Hi, I’m Dory,” the five-year-old blue tang fish said brightly. “I suffer from short-term memory loss.”
Dory’s giant eyes slowly blinked as she floated, waiting for a response. Her parents, Jenny and Charlie, clapped their fins with delight.
“Yes!” Jenny cheered.
“That’s exactly what you say,” said Charlie proudly.
Dory let out a happy sigh of relief. Remembering things was very hard for the energetic little fish, so her parents often asked her to practice introducing herself.
The family lived in a charming coral home nestled safely behind a tall patch of sea grass. As the water’s current moved, the sea grass waved gracefully.
“Okay, we’ll pretend to be the other kids now,” said Jenny. She and Charlie each took a deep breath as they attempted to get into character. “Hi, Dory,” her mom said in a small voice.
“Ahoy there!” said Charlie in his best five-year-old voice. The sound of her parents pretending to be little fish made Dory giggle.
“Do you want to play hide-and-seek?” asked Charlie.
“Okay!” said Dory, tickled.
“We’ll hide, and you count and come find us,” said Charlie.
“I’m hiding!” Jenny sang out from behind the sea grass.
Charlie turned to face his daughter. “Now count to ten,” he said.
Dory placed her fins over her eyes and began to count while her father swam away. “One, two, three, um ... four ... um ...” But that was as far as she got. Dory uncovered her eyes and looked around. She blinked and looked down, then rubbed her fins over the soft sand. She had already forgotten about the game.
“I like sand. Sand is squishy,” she said, completely distracted by the sand.
Just then, Dory heard the sounds of children giggling in the distance. She peeked through the tall grass and saw a large school of young blue tangs playing together, swirling around like a ribbon and having a great time. Dory swam toward them. She wanted to play, too! But her parents quickly came out of their hiding places and stopped her before she could join.
“Okay!” said Charlie. “Hide-and-seek might be a little advanced for right now.”
Dory drew in a quick breath. “Mommy, can I go play with them?” she asked.
“Another time, honey,” said Jenny gently. “Not until you’re ready.”
Dory saw her parents exchange a strained look that made her feel terrible. She never meant to disappoint them ... but it just kept happening. “Did I forget again?” she asked sheepishly.
“No biggie, kelpcake,” said Charlie, trying to lighten the mood by calling Dory one of her many nicknames.
“Oh, sweetie, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” said Jenny.
“What if I forget you?” asked Dory fearfully. Then she gasped. “Would you ever forget me?”
“Oh, kelpcake, no,” said Charlie.
“We will never forget you, Dory,” added Jenny. “And we know you’ll never forget us.”
Dory smiled up at her parents as they both hugged her tightly.