On the quiet side of the Rouge River in Dearborn, Michigan where the stream is sheltered by the trees, and where the sound of footsteps echo in the distance, creatures glide across the water. The glistening sun sparkles on the water as the day begins.  Living in that lake, a small underwater town existed. It consisted of many different fish, turtles, and otters. The humans remained on the land. Zeke, was among the many different fish living in the lake. Sadly, he had lost his family at a very young age. During a bad storm, he was dragged away by a strong current deep into the Rouge river, where he was eventually found, given food, and cared for. Zeke had been living in this part of the Rouge for almost half a year, and fortunately made a few friends, the closest of them being, Cora and Cilio.  

Zeke had been gliding down the stream looking for food when he was suddenly startled by his friend, Cilio.

“Hey Zeke, what are you up to?" asked Cilio.

“Not much. Just looking for food, how about you?” explained Zeke.

“Same actually, you wanna look for something to eat together?” asked Cilio.

“Sure,” Zeke accepted.

They swam across the river. Zeke watching the left side of the bank, and Cilio watching the right. Nonetheless, they couldn't find any food. Both were swimming more slowly now because of the lack of food in their stomachs.

“Look!” screamed Cilio. He spotted something in the water.

“Woohoo! Bon appetit,” hollered Zeke.

Famished, they tore into the food and ate about three fourths of it before finally heading home. Home reminded Zeke of his family, but he didn't like talking about it. On the way back, Zeke and Cilio were moving a great deal slower. Even though Cilio was a turtle, he was extremely fast, but not on a full stomach.

“Home sweet home,” announced Cilio.

Zeke remembered his family and got sad.

“Oh, I'm sorry Zeke. I didn't mean to make you sad,” apologized Cilio.

“It's okay, it's not your fault,” said Zeke.

Zeke went on with his day, and so did Cilio.  Each day Zeke noticed a young boy beside the water. The boy looked sad, Zeke thought to himself. A few days later, Zeke summoned his courage and surfaced near the boy.  On the way to the top of the river Zeke questioned himself on what he would say and how he would introduce himself.  He didn't know that his friend Cora saw him go to the top. As he broke through the surface of the water, he noticed how huge the boy really was.

“Hello,” said Zeke over the rushing water.

“Hi,” said the boy.

“My name is Zeke.”

“Isaac.”

“Nice to meet you,” exclaimed Zeke.

“You too,” replied Isaac.

“How have you been doing?” asked Zeke.

“Good...although 5th grade isn't very challenging. How about you?”

“I'm doing good.”

“Well, I should probably get home. It's almost sunset,”  explained Isaac.

“OK, well bye.” Zeke said.

“Bye.”

As Zeke was swimming towards the bottom of the river, he was met by his friend Cora, who told him how she saw him going up and talking to the human.  He was surprised, and explained how he looked lonely, and like a good kid.

"Yeah, I wanted to say hi, because I see him sitting there a lot," said Zeke.

"Oh. I followed you, because I wanted to do something, but it's late now. Can we get together tomorrow?" Cora asked.

"Sure, but what do you want to do tomorrow?" questioned Zeke.

“Let's go to my house,” announced Cora.

“Sounds good,” agreed Zeke.

“OK, bye,” said Zeke.

“Bye.”

Zeke woke up disappointed that he wasn't going to get the opportunity to make a difference, but at least he could spend some of his day with his friend.  He swam to Cora's house, so they could spend the day together. When he arrived, he entered and announced excitedly,

"I'm here! Now what?"

"Hmm, how about we color a picture?" Cora suggested, swimming over to him.

“Sure," Zeke responded.

Cora and Zeke spent the entire afternoon coloring and drawing pictures. After that they played soccer.  Before long, it was time for Zeke to go. He left, and was headed to his house when he heard Isaac shouting.  He rushed to the river's surface and quickly approached him.

"Hey Isaac, what's wrong?" Zeke said worriedly.

"When I was walking down to the lake, I saw a new factory," explained Isaac.

"What's wrong with that?" questioned Zeke.

"Well, I read that factories need a place to put their pollution, and I think it's going to be the Rouge. I'm worried for you."

Zeke was scared of the knowledge Isaac had given him, but he knew that it would be his opportunity to make a difference, and he was going to make sure it didn't pass him by.

"Do you know where the factory is?" Zeke asked looking around.

"Yes, It's over there." Isaac said, standing up and pointing in the distance.

"Well, I say we go stop them!"

"Okay!" Isaac said smiling. He bent down and scooped Zeke up into a cup he had brought along for that very purpose.

Zeke wasn't entirely aware of the severity of the situation at hand.  He was simply focused on making his mark on the town. On the way to the factory, Zeke grew nervous and started thinking about the possibility of making a mistake, and messing things up.  He began having flashbacks of when he had lost his family. It felt as if his entire life were leading up to these next few moments.   

When they reached the factory, they needed to devise a plan. The loading zone was open, so they could get in from there. Their plan was to ask the factory workers to stand by the environment and not pollute the river. When they entered, they saw two workers and decided to approach them.

"Can we help you?" asked the man.

"Yes," said Isaac nervously.

"With what?" asked the woman.

"We want to make sure that your factory will not dump waste into our river," explained Issac.

"Too late, the rain is already sweeping it that way. Why should we care anyway?" shrugged the man.