FICTION

Neglected Fish — A Short Story

Everyone needs love!

The fish owned, or better to say, cared for by Kevin were stationed in the corner of the living room. There were three of them, and they were pretty noisy if anyone paid them any attention. With their black-spotted red bodies, they cruised around the fish tank, which was half the size of a casket — sorry for the comparison. Most likely, they needed those angelic tails for their dance classes. Why they are called golden, I don’t know.

Kevin loved the fish as much as he loved his books, his cameras and the plants which filled every corner of the house. When he was asked the names of the fish, Kevin had his answer ready. ‘Fish! and Fish! and Fish!’

The fish didn’t mind not being personalised, as long as somebody fed them — anybody!

The fish were the happiest in the world when kids came to visit. Kevin would take the kids to the aquarium and ask them to feed the fish. Only when kids were around would the fish earn another course of food on the same day. So, their happiness was understandable.

One day, in his absence, Kevin’s three flatmates were talking about what attracted them to live in this house. One said, ‘When I first stepped into the house, I passed the corridor filled with books and thought, ‘Nice! Who is the book lover here?’ They all laughed together. The next one spoke, ‘As you know, photography is my passion. As soon as I noticed the cabinet full of cameras, my eyes were fixated.’ The third said, ‘My first question during the flat interview was whose plants were these?’ The flatmates were talking and laughing, unaware of the fish doing the same thing at the same time. ‘Interesting,’ said one of the fish. ‘Nobody noticed us’ said the other. ‘I’m sure the next flatmate will pick us,’ said the third, more optimistic one.

The fish had to wait for the next flatmate for some time. None of the existing ones seemed ready to move out to open up a room for a new one, preferably a fish lover.

Eventually, the flat was again was looking for a flatmate. The fish were excited. That day someone came to view the house. The fish were holding their breath, and at long last, the interviewee asked THE question. ‘Who looks after the fish?’

‘Finally,’ said one of them. ‘I told you,’ said the optimistic one. ‘I can’t believe it!’ said the third. They did their happy dance from one side to other in the tank, which wasn’t noticed by any of the humans.

The next day, the fish heard the flatmates talking about how the fish-loving interviewee from the day before had found another place to live. The fish felt as if they were in an ocean under big waves. How disappointing!

As soon as they received the bad news, some more black lines started growing over the optimistic fish, which the other two observed but sensitively chose not to mention.

A few weeks later, someone moved into the flat, but the new guy paid no attention to the fish. The last words from the optimistic fish were that she was going to travel for a while. She immediately swam off to the other end of the tank.

Thank you for reading.

This is another loved story.