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Monday, July 2, 2012

A Fishy Tale of Grief

It was a sweet idea really.  
An innocent dual purchase at Petco. 
  1. male beta
  2. female beta
Research was done.  
An aquarium was divided to separate 
the happy couple until it was time for breeding. 
Romantic lighting was installed.  
Bubblers merrily bubbled away.  
Fragrant fish flakes sifted down regularly, plentifully.  
The male glided through his northern kingdom, 
displaying his finny plumage, 
showing off for his plain sleek partner 
in her southern chamber.
   
Anticipation was high that someday, 
someday,
there would be a union 
and hundreds of tiny offspring would be nurtured, 
floating amongst the bubbles carefully blown by papa fish until they swam free. 
Life was good.

Until...

In the deepest part of night, 
when a vigilant owner was buried in the covers, 
dreaming the dreams only high school seniors can dream, the duplicitous female made her move.
Burrowing her wet snout into the slight crevice 
between the screen and the glass, 
she silently slipped into her lover's lair; 
the innocent but flashy male beta 
that had taunted her lo these many days 
with his gaudy display of finny finery.

She attacked, she slashed.  
She nibbled and gnawed and gnashed her terrible teeth.  
He retreated, she advanced. 
He was confused.
She dogged him like an aquatic hound.
Our handsome suitor was discovered
 listless amongst the fauna,
his color bleached out by fear, 
his proud plumage chewed by a she-devil.

He leaves no survivors.

Still she swims.
Unrepentant.
Inhaling her fish flakes likes she has the right.
No trace of grief creasing her slimy brow.

Our own black widow of the sea
 flicks her careless tail
not realizing
that she is only a flush away from hell.



13 comments:

Pondside said...

There's a life lesson there, for all species. Watch out for the woman - she may look modest and unassuming, but under that quiet grey exterior lurks a shark.
Did you get counselors in for the traumatised owner?

Susan Anderson said...

A flush away, indeed. She's a cold-hearted fish.

;)

RoeH said...

Funny! The saga of all time and history. Woman teases ever so romantically; man gets his butt kicked. Somehow, I bet he deserved it. And I agree. Call in the counselors. :)

karen said...

That's horrible! I didn't know they did that. Pfffbst! I'd flush her.

Unknown said...

That was so descriptive! She is of the devil.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Ack!
Lesson learned. Don't show off your finery. It might just look good enough to eat.

Holly said...

Well, he probably forgot to take out the trash, or possible he didn't feel like mowing the lawn over the weekend so she had to do it on Monday in 112 degree heat. Oh, no, that would be me.

just call me jo said...

A very sad tale (tail). Beta's are pretty but fragile and fickle. Fish depress me. No endurance...And they had such a nice aquatic abode too.

R A C H A E L said...

She is the black widow of fish. This takes me back to when we would feed our betas little minnows we caught, and then they always died because they ate too much.

Melynda@Scratch Made Food! said...

And now we all know where the term "she's a cold 9hearted) fish" comes from.....

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

Oh yes, you are always this funny ... Our male beta's have all died a natural death, thankfully ... Sorry for your loss :)

Andrea @ From the Sol

Valerie said...

Sad. :( But your creative storytelling is so funny.

MTeacress said...

What a naughty fish. What a terrible killer. Do you have an appropriate name for her at least?