by Ronnie Pontiac.
A koi fish glistening white, rainbows in her scales, with spots of gold and orange, and a black stripe, lived in an aquarium, in a house where a cat lived.
The koi had fresh water every day and delicious goldfish food flakes and other treats to eat.
At least once a day the warm hand of a human being pet the koi who swam happily in circles wagging her tail, like a puppy.
The koi liked to float with her face in the bubbles of the air filter.
She liked smooth stones from the bottom of the aquarium, they felt soothing in her mouth. She would pick one up, swim with it, then put it somewhere new.
Happy day and night she grew to be the biggest koi in the tank. But sometimes she would pout to get extra attention.
Only one thing troubled her. The cat, though she didn’t know it was called that. That ugly fish outside the tank was able to move wherever and whenever it pleased in the space outside the aquarium. Places that the koi could only glimpse the cat could explore.
The koi watched the cat. Whenever the cat walked in the room the koi swam over to see what he was doing.
The cat seemed to like the company. Whenever the koi got her goldfish flakes the cat had to eat some, too, right there next to the aquarium. But then the cat would walk away and disappear around a corner. The koi could not stop wondering what was around that corner.
The koi outgrew her aquarium. In a pond she pined away for the cat. So she didn’t last.
Not long after, the cat and another cat had kittens.
One of the kittens had a white belly with yellow and orange splotches and black stripes.
That kitten was not much like a cat. He didn’t understand how to play. He seemed confused by his legs and frightened of running too fast.
That kitten grew up to be a cat who doesn’t like to go outside the house as if the house is a big aquarium. The world outside the glass scares him.
That cat likes to sit with his face in the air conditioner vent where the air feels like bubbles on his face.
That cat goes around in circles like a puppy when he gets pets.
That cat pouts to get food.
That cat likes to pick up round little rocks from potted plants and put them somewhere new.
That cat won’t eat cat food unless goldfish flakes are sprinkled on top.
That cat was a koi who wanted to be a cat.
That fish got her wish!