Charlotte O'Brien lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, a teenager, a toddler, and a scruffy dog. Her writing has appeared in Mutha Magazine, Cider Press Review, and Apercus Quarterly, among others. She graduated from Pacific University’s MFA program in 2013. Charlotte writes poetry and nonfiction. She is currently writing a memoir about living in America as an illegal immigrant. You can find out more about her at www.charlotteobrien.org/.
Plankton either grows into something other than plankton—a strong swimming non-planktonic adult, like a crab or a fish, or it stays the same—forever drifting with the shifting tides.