Pesca raced through the ocean with the other alewives in her school as winter winds whipped the water into steep waves and sleet fell They were hunting tiny animals that drifted in clusters sometimes near the surface of the water and sometimes deeper where the light was dim The alewives swam fast and close together Often they looked like one big fish flashing silvery scales but they were many fish with gray-green backs silver bellies and sharp tails Behind the curve of their gill covers on each side they were marked with a small dark spot
When spring came and the full moon shone down shadows of birds moved across it The birds were flying north Pesca and her school felt something pulling them It was Lily Lake where they had hatched from eggs in water that was not salty like this ocean water but sweet and muddy The year before in a springtime much like this one Pesca the oldest and biggest alewife had led her school back to Lily Lake to spawn their eggs drifting down to the bottom Now she would do it again Slowly they turned and headed north with the birds as alewives before them had done for thousands of years They joined other schools of alewives making one enormous glittering school
